Rebirth
by runiechica
Summary: An AU of season 1...Veronica gets an unexpected surprise. Eventual LoVe
1. Chapter 1

Pairing/Character: Veronica, Wallace, Duncan, Logan, Weevil no pairings in this chapter, eventual LoVe  
Word Count: About 3800  
Rating: R for language  
Summary: A what if AU off of season one. This would be a replacement for the pilot. Not all chapters will be so similar to the corresponding episodes. Veronica's a little different...  
Spoilers: No real spoilers...general knowledge of season 1 helpful.  
A/N I started this story ages ago, but recently became re-interested in Veronica Mars fanfic again and decided I'd give this story another try.  
Disclaimer: I don't own any of them...yet :)

Who would have thought that when Lilly's life ended so would mine. I guess it's only fair because Lilly had to be gone so I could come out from her shadow to be reborn. Veronica 2.0. Definitely new, the jury is still out on the improved part.

I miss her. I'm ok without the parties and the fake friends. Hell, I'm even ok with being without Duncan, but I really miss Lilly. I miss girl talk and having someone to shop with. I miss Lilly, who may have treated her boyfriends like shit, but her friends she treated like they were precious. I miss Lilly who was always able to make you feel like the best possible version of yourself. Let's face it, I miss Lilly's version of Veronica. I miss her most now, as I prepare to start up Junior year.

I stop out of the car and take a deep breath. Hell, sweet Hell. I walk towards the front of the school. I am surprised to see a huge crowd of people by the flagpole. As I get closer I am able to see there ís a boy duct taped to it with "Snitch" written on his chest. I roll my eyes as I fight my way through the crowd to get to him. It's not hard to shove through a crowd when everyone hates you. My stomach recoils familiarly and I struggle to remember if there is any breakfast left in it. No, breakfast is long gone. With a wince I hope looks like a grimace I tell the crowd to leave. "Go to class, show's over here."

"Who died and left you in control?" Mike Connel asks with a sneer. Right, because that's witty and original.

I pull out my switchblade and let it slide into place right in front of his face. He backs away and says, "Ok, ok. What a bitch."

That's me, Veronica Mars the bitch. I turn to the kid duct taped to the pole. He meets my gaze and doesn't flinch or turn away. Ah, fresh meat. I slice through the duct tape binding him easily. "I think you can get the rest, yes?" I ask speaking of the shorts made of duct tape he is wearing. Man, I hope they let him keep his underwear. Knowing the ass holes that go to our school, they didn't.

I turn and walk away before he can reply. I donít want the kid getting the wrong impression. I am not looking for thanks or more friends willing to ditch me with the turn of the crowd. My gaze falls onto Duncan, Lilly's brother, and the one who hurt me the most. I may have always said I didn't care when all of my friends stopped talking to me unless it was to insult me, but I was lying. One day I realized I had stopped pretending not to care because I really didn't care. I am completely fine without those ass holes in my life, but when I see Duncan my chest tightens and I realize I do still care. It's a good thing I've had a lot of practice pretending. You see, he used to be my boyfriend.

Just last year my fairy tale seemed complete. I had the perfect Prince Charming, a loving family, a best friend who already felt like a sister, and a court of adoring fans. That is until the prince dumped me without any warning or any explanation. One day it was like I contracted leprosy and he was the only one who could tell.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
_I walk up to Duncan and I cant stop my grin from taking over my face. I love him. I didn't think I would be one of those girls whose lives became incomplete without their boyfriends, but I also didn't think I'd meet someone so sweet. "Hey, Sweetie, you didn't call me last night." Duncan calls me every night. Even if its just to say "I love you."_

I can see his back stiffening, so I know he hears me, but he makes no move to respond. I go up to him and lay my hand on his shoulder gently. "What's wrong?"

He doesn't answer. Instead he pulls away from me and starts to walk in the opposite direction. "Duncan, Duncan wait? Where are you going?"

He isn't turning around. If anything I would swear he is walking faster. I turn away when I notice a group of girls laughing at me. I turn away and continue walking down the hallway. I really hope they didn't notice the tears.

It was two days before I was able to bring the subject up to Lilly. She always loved the fact that her best friend and her brother were dating, but she really hated to hear about it. "Lilly, did Duncan break up with me?"

She gives me a weird look. "Don't you think you would have noticed if he went, 'Veronica, I think we should break up?'? I know you can be a bit out of it, Veronica, but come on. You're not that blond are you?"

"Well I know he didn't say that, but unless Iím missing something I think he ended things. He recoiled when I touched his arm, he won't talk to me, he won't even look at me." I am ashamed as the tears start to slide down my face. Lilly hates weakness.

"Oh come on, Veronica! It's just Donut. He's probably got his panties in a twist about some delusion. I'll talk to him if you really want." She grins at me wickedly. "Or, if you'd rather I could break up with Logan and you and I could go out and try to meet some guys. What do you say? Ready to be my wing-girl?"

I can see Logan walking towards us in the hall, but he turns away with a pained expression down another hall. I wonder for a second how much he heard. "God, no, of course not, Lilly. At least you guys can be happy."

"Fine, fine. Iíll talk to him."

"Thanks, Lilly."

The next day Lilly breaks up with Logan and invites me to a party. She says nothing, but I know how her conversation with Duncan must have gone. Somehow I made Prince Charming hate me.

That was a long time ago though and I am a different girl now. I'm no longer heartbroken, but it still hurts to see Duncan. Especially after the way he treated me after his sister died. After Lilly was murdered. Duncan sees me staring off in his direction and he sneers as he walks towards me. Great, another perfect day at Neptune High School.

"Well if it isnít Veronica Mars. Have a good summer? It doesnít look like you made it out enough, you're awfully pasty."

"Now, now, Duncan. Just because I didnít spend the summer at the beach with you and your collection of skanks doesn't mean I didn't have a good time. Some of us have to work for a living, I'm sure your maids told you all about working, right?"

Duncan starts for a second and I allow myself a satisfied smile. Last year I would have crumpled up or run to the bathroom to cry. Not anymore. Duncan Kane, meet Veronica Mars 2.0.

"Ah, I thought the new sheriff chased you off of your street corner."

"Street corner? You must be thinking of the whore I saw you get into your car with last night. What'd she make you pay? Did she give you the billion dollar special?" I am enjoying this conversation more than I would have thought when my stomach churns again. I think I must have miscalculated on breakfast being gone. Before I can even realize what's happening I throw up all over Duncan.

"You fucking bitch! You did that on fucking purpose. I'm going to fucking kill you, you bitch!" Duncan starts to lunge towards me, but just as swiftly I pull out my taser gun. Before I can taser him Logan pulls him away. Logan Echolls, the school's designated psychotic ass hole. Excellent, a much better sparring partner than poor Duncan.

"Come on man, let's get you home so you can change. It's not worth it. What are you going to do, hit a girl? You want to get suspended?"

Logan leads Duncan back towards the parking lot. I can feel the heat of the hate rising from Duncan's eyes. This isn't finished. I wave at him and wink. His face shudders in rage, but Logan must have a tight grip on him. I look at Logan, expecting an echo of the rage in Duncan's eyes, but there is nothing. If anything I see pity and it makes me want to hit him. I don't want anyone's pity.

Well itís promising to be an interesting year. Who would have imagined I would throw up on Duncan Kane. Score one for morning sickness! Yup, that's right. Wondering who the father is? So am I.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
_I walk into Shelley's end of the school year party even though I know no one wants me to attend. What else am I going to do, but pretend I don't care? It's my first party since Lilly, and I wonder what harm could it bring. I'm tired of passively accepting their rejection._

Everyone turns to look at me, but no one says anything. People laugh as I walk by, but no one says anything. I grab a drink and chug it. Fuck it. I'm so tired of hurting all of the time, and I'm tired of pretending it doesn't hurt.

Someone hands me a drink and I grab it thankfully. I turn to see who gave it to me, but there is no one looking my way. Well, it's the closest anyone has come to interacting with me in weeks, so I am grateful.

Things start to become fuzzy not too long after that. I dance my way across the room instead of just walking. When I get outside I feel like laughing. Everything feels so good. I lay down on a pool chair so I can look at the stars properly.

I wake up the next morning in one of the guest bedrooms. I have to look around for my underwear. I can't help the tears that slowly fall down my face. I didn't think anyone hated me this much.

I make it to my car, but then I pause. Where else am I going to go? I don't want to go home. I don't know what my father would do when he found out, but it could be nothing good. Since my mom took off he's all I have, and I would really rather not visit him in prison. With great reluctance I decide to go to the sheriff's office.

Inga is very concerned about my appearance. I know I look like crap, but what do you really expect. My conversation with the sheriff is a bit of a blur. Telling him I had been raped was the single hardest thing I had ever done. He laughed and suggested it wasn't against my will. He mocked me. I am sitting there, holding my ripped underwear, wishing I could shower. I don't feel like I'll ever feel clean again. I feel like kicking and screaming, but I know it won't do any good.

Sheriff Lamb taught me something very important. He taught me no one else can bring you justice.

I went home and took a long series of showers. I didn't actually step out of the tub until the water was icy cold. I stare at myself in the mirror. Who am I? "I'm not you!" I scream at my reflection before I break down into sobbing. Through the tears I reach up and chop off a huge hunk of my hair. I let it fall to the floor. I don't stop until it hangs without touching my shoulders. I get dressed and start to clean up the bathroom. Dad doesn't say anything, but I see the worry in his eyes.

A month later and I missed my period. I didn't think too much of it, but I missed the next month too. I bought a bunch of pregnancy tests. After the tenth positive reading it started to sink in that I was pregnant.

I sleep my way through my mornings classes. I havenít been sleeping well. World Lit seemed like the perfect place to catch up a little bit.

I'm staring at my disturbing Salisbury steak at lunch. I swirl some of the peas and carrot bits into the gravy without lifting my fork to my mouth once. A shadow passes over my tray and I look up. The flagpole kid is sitting at my table.

"You know what I hate?"

"Who said you could sit here?" His face falls, but he doesn't say anything back. He just starts to gather up his lunch bag and the apple he had pulled out of it. I'm used to having to hit first, but I'm not used to not being hit back. "Wait, of course you can sit here. You can sit anywhere."

He grins and plops himself back down. I can't help the small smile that escapes in response. My smile gets bigger as I realize Duncan has noticed my guest and is crushing the box of lo mein he was holding in response. I look back at the new kid. It's been a long time since I had even a casual conversation with someone my own age. I can't think of a single thing to say. Unfortunately, I didn't have to.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't my bitch. I thought I had made it completely clear you were supposed to wait for me at the flag pole." If it wasn't Eli ìWeevilî Navarro. My eyebrow went up. What could this kid have done to piss off Weevil?

"Ha, ha. Very funny. I get it,"the kid manages to stutter. I feel like snorting. I've been there and that kind of attitude isn't going to get him out of this situation.

"Leave him alone." I say before I can stop myself. Why do I care so much about this geeky kid?

"The only time I care what a woman has to say is when she is riding my big ole hog, and even then it's really only a serious of oohs and aahs," Weevil says and he leers at me suggestively.

"So it's big?"

"Legendary."

"Let's see it." Weevil laughs and turns to look at his gang members. "Well, if it's as big as you say I'll be your girlfriend. We could go to prom together." He doesn't say anything in reply, but I see that as a small victory. "Come on, I'm on a schedule here, Vato." A schedule. He has no idea. Six more months before I have a baby without a father. Probably only a few weeks before I start to show. I wonder if he would leer that way if he could see the small bulge forming underneath my sweatshirt. I have six months to find the fucker who raped me so I can make him pay. I don't have time for this ass hole or the games he wants to play.

I give Weevil another look before shaking my head, grabbing the flag pole kid and walking away. I stop and turn around, "Give a call when you grow a pair, Vato."

I can hear his gang members gasping and asking him if he is going to let me talk to him like that, but he doesn't make a move to follow. From the look in his eyes I know this isn't over either.

"What the hell did you do to him?"

I turn to the kid and realize I really have to ask him his name soon. He's looking at me with wide eyes. After much stuttering he manages to tell me about sending two of Weevil's boys to jail for stealing alcohol.

"You really know how to make an entrance, don't you kid?" I start to walk down the hall towards my next class. I don't need the drama this kid is going to bring me.

I hear him jog to catch up. "It's Wallace."

"Huh?"

"You called me kid, my name is Wallace."

"Is this where we shake hands and become best friends forever?"

His face falls and I feel a little guilty. Damn this boy that looks at me like a puppy I just kicked. I sigh. "My name is Veronica Mars. Ask around before we become too chummy, ok?"

I walk away, plans to get the gang off his back already snaking through my brain.

Later that night I am parked outside a seedy motel watching Duncan's father, Jake Kane. His mother hired my father to investigate him to make sure he wasn't cheating on her. That's what my father does now, he's a private investigator. It looks like Celeste was right to be worried, unless Jake often has business meetings at 1:00am in cheap hotel rooms. I can practically smell the stench of bimbo from my car.

I hear a buzzing coming closer and turn around. Weevil and his motorcycle gang are coming down the street. Have I reveled in the wonderfulness that is today enough yet?

They stop in front of my car. "Car trouble miss?" Weevil asks sarcastically.

I reply in kind. "Yes, I think so. If one of you boys wouldn't mind helping me out here."

It's moments like this that I really miss Lily. She would have found the humor in being a pregnant woman surrounded by gang of guys on motorcycles appropriately funny.

One of the guys comes towards the car. Before he can even touch the door Backup leaps out of the back seat and bites him on the leg. You didnít think I would travel without protection? No one is ever going to hurt me like that again. Another one of the guys comes towards the car and grins at me. I taser his ass. I grin at Weevil as two of his guys are writhing on the ground.

"Can I talk to you for a minute?" he asks. I frown. I don't think I heard anything sarcastic or suggestive in that statement, but I am not stupid.

"You think I'm crazy, Vato?"

He walks up to the car slowly. He says something in Spanish to the two boys on the ground and they crawl away. "Backup, chill," I add so the first guy can crawl away and keep his leg.

"You can keep the taser out and ready if you want. I just want to talk to you privately for a minute."

I shrug. "Sure, why not. I donít even need the taser. Backup really seems to dislike you."

He leans in and whispers, "I need your help."

I can't help it, I laugh and his whole face tightens. "Why would I want to help you?"

"I think you're going to want some help real soon. You think school is bad now? Just wait another month or two until that sweatshirt stops hiding your little secret. Not throwing up on your ex-boyfriend might help too. Not that I blame you, that prick deserves a hell of a lot worse."

I can feel the blood drain from my face. Fuck. I thought I had done such a good job of hiding it. If Weevil knew who else knew? Fuck, fuck, fuck. I need more time. I still haven't figured out a way to tell Dad yet.

His face softens as if he can read my whole inner tirade. "Hey, it's ok. I don't think anyone else knows. One of the cousins is a janitor at the clinic. I was helping him out when you went in for your last checkup. I saw you there and.."

I cut him off before he can talk about the pity I see across his face. "You saw me and what? Figured there goes a fucking whore so stupid she got knocked up? Thought to yourself, hey there's a teenage mom to be, let me blackmail her white ass?"

"No, I just figured you'd be needing some help."

"And what is it you want in return? Your boys to walk?"

"Nah, Iím on that. You might want to be near Duncan's locker at 10:30 tomorrow morning."

"So what do you want?"

"I want your help finding Lilly's killer."

That was definitely not what I was expecting. Dad didn't think that Abel Koontz killed Lilly and I trusted him, but the whole reason I am now a social outcast is that absolutely no one else believes us. This is too weird, even for me. I whistle and Backup jumps back into the car. I put the car into reverse and peel out. I turn around and drive away wondering what I am going to do when they follow me. They don't follow. Weevil just stares at me until I can't see him in the rearview mirror anymore. He probably kept it up until I disappeared from his sight as well.

Being weirded out did not keep me from Duncanís locker the next morning. I knew his locker was up for a random search, and Weevil had officially peeked my curiosity. I arrive just in time to see the Deputy searching the locker pull out a bong in the shape of a naked guy. I snort as Duncan explodes. "That's not mine. That's not fucking mine. Give that to me you prick, you're not taking that down to the station. IT'S NOT MINE!" Two seconds later and the Deputy is down and Duncan is on top of him.

I find Weevil. "I want you to explain what you said yesterday." His eyebrow goes up. "I saw Duncan and I think I owe you enough to at least sit down and listen."

He grins and nods. "Enjoy the show huh? I'll come talk to you tonight. I think we'd both like some privacy."

I nod. I start to turn, but I realize Logan is watching me talk to Weevil. He shakes his head and walks away. I turn and walk to the computer lab. I have a video of Duncan's performance on my cell phone that I just can't wait to post all over the internet.


	2. Chapter 2

It's midnight and I am starting to wonder if Weevil is really going to come. The thought has crossed my mind that he is just messing with me more than a few times in the last several hours. This is what I get for listening to the leader of a motorcycle gang. With a sigh I turn and head towards the bathroom so I can brush my teeth and go to bed. I'll track Weevil down and get some answers tomorrow.

The sight of myself in the mirror stops me as it always does. It's been so long since I was confident about that girl being me. Everyday there is some change so subtle I barely notice until it looks like something that is not me has taken over my body. Sometimes I worry that I am changing with it. Sometimes I worry that I'm not.

After I am done I pad softly back to my bedroom. I know Dad isn't even home, but I can't stop my steps from being quiet and cautious. I enter my room and it takes all of my strength not to scream at the face floating in the window. My hand automatically reaches for the pocket in my bag where I keep my taser, but I am in my pajamas and the bag is over next to my bed. The face is suddenly blurred by a motion and I realize it's Weevil and he's waving at me.

I walk over to the window and open it a few inches.

"Scare you, Blondie?" he asks with a grin.

I can feel the heat rises to my cheeks. "Hey, if the scary criminal shoe fits..." I say with what I hope is a condescending look. I'm still tempted to call Backup over here, but I'm calmer and it will be hard to get answers out of him if he's screaming. At least not coherently.

"They're my favorite pair," he answers with a sneer. "Are you going to invite me in?"

"Funny, I never figured the criminal type sneaking up to my window after midnight would ask to be invited in," I answer flippantly, but I move away from the window giving him space to come in.

"I meant through the front door. I don't want neighbors calling the sheriff because a shadowy figure broke into your house. With my luck your father would get home first, and the sheriff wouldn't find anything but a shadowy corpse."

The fact that this tough boy is honestly afraid of my father makes me want to laugh. I manage to contain it, but I can tell he sees the laughing in my eyes. I nod, not trusting myself to speak without giggling, and turn back towards the hall.

When I open the front door I am surprised to see he's already there. I wave away my surprise and open the door wide with a flourish. He nods and enters. I close the door behind him, and for the first time I wonder if it is really a good idea to have a gang leader in my apartment when I am alone. Backup comes up behind me and nuzzles my hand. I look down with a smile. I can tell he's uneasy, he doesn't trust this intruder, but I haven't given him the signal to attack. "Please, just let me bite him for a little while," his eyes seem to say.

"Hey, I come in peace." He makes a show of putting his hands up to show he was unarmed. He eyes show no real fear, and I have a feeling he is mocking me.

"I bet you're real comfortable with that position, aren't you?"

He shakes his head. "You know, Blondie, this is real fun, but I thought you and I had business to discuss."

It surprises me that his words are true. This is fun. It isn't much different than the conversations I have with the people who used to be my friends everyday, but their words stung or burned and this is fun. Go figure.

"Right, so what makes you think Abel didn't kill Lilly?"

"There's the straight to business girl I know." He smiles and shrugs. "What does it matter? You believe the same thing, right?"

"Yes, but my opinion is hardly enough to counteract all of the evidence refuting it," I say, my tone dripping with bitterness.

"Your opinion means more than you think, but you're right, that's not why I know Abel didn't do it."

"So what is?"

"Well Abel had some weaknesses especially when it came to women. He was a regular at the Seventh Veil, and he liked to take the girls aside and get a private show."

I can feel my face getting flushed again. I don't need to know the intimate sexual details of the man who would protect Lilly's killer. "While this is a great character defense I don't see the actual connection."

"Impatient are we? Maybe you're nervous of being alone in your house with me?"

I want to be able to say of course not, but my mouth won't work. I feel the mask of my defenses slipping away. I look away so Weevil won't see the tears glittering in my eyes. I don't want to be afraid, but I'm tired of lying to myself. I've been afraid a lot since Shelley's party.

His fingers gently cusp my chin, and he turns my head so I am facing him again. "I was joking. I won't hurt you."

I feel like laughing and making one of a thousand sarcastic comments that jump to my mind, but I bite all of it back. There is sincerity in his voice and genuine concern in his eyes. It's been a long time since someone cared about me like that. I haven't done more than steal moments since Lilly died.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
_I walk into the church for Lilly's funeral, and I can barely move, the hatred surrounding me is so strong. I knew no one wanted me there, but I couldn't imagine missing this. No one may have believed me, but I loved Lilly. Celeste comes towards me, and I am afraid she is going to kick me out, but Jake grabs her arm. He whispers into her ear and she relaxes slightly. She glares one last time in my direction before walking away._

_Most of the actual service was a blur. I had to keep reminding myself that this was real. It wasn't easy, especially since the eulogy and photos weren't really about Lilly. They were filled with images and stories of the girl Celeste wanted Lilly to be. I'm sure that's the only reason she was willing to give the eulogy, she finally got to have the daughter she always wanted._

_"Lilly was a kindhearted gentle soul. It is a tragedy that such a young and promising girl could be stolen from us. I'm going to miss Lilly so much. She was always such a wonder for us. As a child she was full of energy and curiosity. We loved watching her grow and explore. She was a delight every single second, and I only wish we could have had even just a few more seconds with her." She stops for some crying that seems pretty fake from where I am sitting._

_She goes back to talking, but I have had enough of her lies and I tune her out. I have my own private eulogy to Lilly in my head. "Iím going to miss Lilly Kane more than anyone can ever know. I feel like someone has cut off one of my legs, but is still asking me to run around like nothing is wrong. Something is wrong, Lilly is gone. I've never met anyone with such an unquenchable thirst for life. Who will challenge me onto embracing life with the same enthusiasm now that Lilly is gone? Lilly may not have always been the most reliable person, but once her loyalty was given fully, it was unshakable. I'm not sure there were more than one or two other people that really like to experience that feeling. I wish there could have been more, it was a wonderful feeling. I will always remember Lilly's strength and her ability to love so strongly. I will always remember Lilly."_

_I am just pathetic enough that my quiet eulogy brings tears down my face. I realize people are starting to get up to move towards the private burial. I wasn't invited. I stand up to join the crowd leaving the building, but my progress is slow as several people purposefully shove me around. I wish I had thought to leave a few minutes early. I put my head down and concentrate on avoiding everyone._

_I end up running right smack into Duncan's arms. I whimper slightly as I look up and see who is so close to me. He grins at the sound. "Why hello there, Veronica, I didn't expect to see you here. Didn't you get my invitation to not be here?"_

_I think back to the four flat tires on my car. I figured it was a ploy to keep me from attending, but I owed Lilly more than that. "Duncan, why would you do something like that? I loved her too you know."_

_"You loved her so much, but your father accused my father of killing her and you choose to stand next to him? He tries to rip my family to shreds at our weakest moment and you honestly think you're innocent?" He's yelling now and I'm starting to get scared. I've never been scared of calm and reliable Duncan before this moment. He grabs my shoulder and shakes me. "How can you believe my father could kill her?"_

_I'm crying again, but it's out of fear instead of sorrow. Duncan looks down at me and for the first time in weeks he seems to really see me, the girl he used to love. He drops me and I fall to the floor. It hurts, but not as much as the look of pure rage in his eyes. He stomps off and I sit on the floor crying alone._

_I don't know how much time has passed before I feel a gentle hand on my shoulder and then on my face. Comforting murmurs accompany the hands and I feel myself relaxing. I feel lips press into the top of head, and I start to cry again in gratitude. I feel the loss of contact and hear the receding footsteps. I look up just into to see Logan Echolls' silhouette in the doorway of the church. It was a long time before I returned to my dad's car only to find all four tires flat. It looks like I am going to need better auto insurance._

Weevil clears his throat and starts to talk again. "One of my friend's big sisters came up to after seeing the news when Abel was arrested. She was waiting tables at the Seventh Veil that day and saw him. She said he was there from about two in the afternoon until well past nine. He couldn't have done it. The girl who gave him the lap dance and private show was so out of it she didn't realize who her client had been until I went to have a little chat with her. I guess I came on too strong because she's since completely skipped town. No one I've talked to has had a clue where she could have gone."

Anger flicks across his face, but I realize heís only angry with himself. Weevil's story isn't going to be enough to get Abel out of jail, but it gives me hope that Dad and I didn't give up everything for nothing.

"I guess the other question is why do you care who killed Lilly?"

Weevil looks away and his body stiffens up. He slowly reaches over and rolls up his sleeve. There is a heart tattoo with the name Lilly written across it on his arm. He looks at me with defiance, as if daring me to comment.

"Ah, she made you love her too."

"I knew there were other guys, but Lilly was something special, you know? For a long time I really thought I was special to her too." There is shame in his voice, and I feel guilty my best friend could cause so much pain.

"I know she was special, and Iím sure she cared about you in her way. I think Lilly just didn't know the right way to care about someone."

"I should go before your father gets home. Are you going to help me or not?"

I hesitate, but it's rather pointless. I know the answer before my mouth even has a chance to open. "Of course I'll help you." I feel more complete now that I have a mission and a place to start it.

"There is something else I could use your help with."

"I'm beginning to think you're not just here because I'm pretty. Should I start to feel taken advantage of?" I ask lightly.

"Of course not. I wouldn't ask, but it's my grandmother. Lamb came to arrest her today. He had some bogus shit about credit card fraud from the Echolls."

He sounds angry and I feel bad for teasing him. "Eli, I had no idea. I'm so sorry to hear about your grandmother. What can I do?"

"Help me find the bastard that framed her."

There is ice in his tone and all I can do is nod.

School passes in a complete blur. I never really minded school, but it feels like a complete waste of time when I have so much more important things to do. I see Weevil and his gang a couple of times, but we don't talk. I don't know what we're afraid of. Neither of us could do anything to harm our reputations.

I am woken up from my daze by the note to go see the school guidance counselor. I sit and listen to her go off about how concerned she is for me for ten or fifteen minutes before she gets the point. "You need something to be passionate about. I think you should join the newspaper."

My body tenses up as I realize Duncan is in newspaper. I always knew this lady hated me. "No, I think I'm ok."

"Veronica, if you don't think newspaper would be a good option perhaps you would rejoin Pep Squad."

I repress a shudder. "So what period do I have newspaper?"

"I thought you might see things that way."

I take a deep breath before entering my new class. It's very important not to show fear. I ask to start with photography and show off my camera a little bit. "Wow, sure," the teacher stumbles as she recovers from her impression I wouldn't know aperture from shutter speed. "I have your first assignment. Are you free after school tomorrow?"

I suppose it's best if I get this over with soon, right? "Yeah, I guess."

"We're doing a feature on Bodie Chang. You know him?"

"Surfer. Up until five minutes ago I was in study hall with him."

"That's him. He's winning all these competitions and he's got another one at Gold Coast tomorrow. Meet the guy who's doing the story. Duncan Kane, this is Veronica. Veronica is taking pictures tomorrow. I arranged for you to ride with Body's parents."

Oh great. Why didn't I go back to Pep Squad again? Duncan glares at me and sneers. "I think Iíd rather drive myself."

"Maybe Veronica can..."

"I'll drive myself too," I interrupt before she can suggest such a horrible event as Duncan and I riding in the same car. One of us would die. Two enter, one leaves.

I'm sitting alone at lunch contemplating how things got so messed up when someone's moves in front of my face. I jump three inches off of my seat. I catch Logan smirking at me from across the quad before my attention goes back to Wallace.

"You ok, girl? I was talking to your for a couple minutes, but you were just staring out at nothing."

"Yeah, I have a lot on my mind right now."

"Maybe I can help."

I try to hide my snicker. "What can you do to help?"

"I won't know unless you tell me what the problem is, now will I?"

I realize that I am being a bigger bitch than he deserves. I find myself telling him all about Weevil and the Echolls' credit card fraud even though I know he doesn't have much reason to feel sympathy for Weevil. I am therefore not surprised when he looks at me like a grew a couple extra heads and says, "You do realize this is the guy who duct taped me buck naked to the flag pole just the other day, right?"

"Man, you really know how to hold a grudge, don't you?"

"Yeah, I guess I'm funny like that."

I can tell he's upset, and I wonder if I'm asking too much. I open my mouth to say as much when Wallace starts to speak again. "Look, maybe I can help you out. My diving class got canceled so I got stuck as an office aide. I guess I could take a peek at his attendance records for you as long as we are clear I am doing this as a favor for you, not for Weevil."

My jaw drops. "Get down with your bad self." We smile at each other and I realize how much I have missed this. "I really appreciate it."

Wallace comes to the office to hang out with my after school. He brings a photocopy of Weevil's attendance records. Weevil told me he was in class when most of the purchases were made, but I doubted Lamb would back down because we said so. The records prove he was in class, but I know I need something that will leave no doubt. The evidence needs to have a flashing neon sign for Lamb to be able to read it.

I spend most of the next day dreading my first journalism assignment. It's not that I don't want to take pictures of Bodie, but I don't want to be in the same place as Duncan if I can help it. I think this is why I am both pissed and relieved when I see one of my tires is flat after school. With a sigh I decide to not use this as an excuse not to go and start to fix it.

"Flat?" a voice I don't recognize asks. I look over my shoulder to see who it is. He's kind of cute, but he thinks he's cuter than he is.

"Just as God made me." I turn away from him and get back to work. The last year or so has made me good at changing tires, but I really don't have much time.

"Want any help? I'm Troy, by the way."

"Nice to meet you. I'm Veronica Mars." I expect him to flinch when he hears who I am, but he doesn't react at all. I wonder how the 09íers missed filling him in.

Duncan walks by without bothering to try to hide his laughter. "Aww, does this mean you're going to miss the surfing competition. If only there was something I could do to help." He sneers at me and shrugs. "Oh well, have fun."

Troy looks over at him and they share an intense and weird look. Duncan leaves and I expect Troy to do the same, but he leans down and takes the jack from me instead. Duncan pulls out of the parking lot loudly, and I wish I could prove he kept letting the air out of my tires. At least this time it wasn't slashed, they often are.

I hear an engine revving behind me and I sigh as I turn around. I smile when I realize it's Weevil. "Need a ride, V?"

I look at Troy in the middle of fixing my tire. I want to stay and help him finish, but I know I don't have a lot of time to get to Gold Coast. He ends up making my decision for me. "Go ahead and go. Leave your trunk popped and I'll put the jack and stuff back in it before I leave. You can pick it up later. Chivalry not dead."

I find myself smiling at him. "Thanks so much. I would stay, but I don't want to be late. It's a school thing."

"Don't worry about it. It's my pleasure."

Weevil tosses me a helmet and I climb on behind him. "I have to go to Gold Coast to take pictures of Bodie's surf competition." I say apologetically.

"No problem."

"I'll call my dad for a ride home, so you won't need to hang around." I can't believe who I am getting a ride from and on what. We spend most of the ride in silence, but it's not uncomfortable.

The competition is great. Bodie is a really talented surfer, and I know I get some really nice shots. I call my dad almost as soon as we get there, and he promises to pick me up when it's over. I manage to avoid Duncan completely, but I think he was avoiding me too. Clearly I should manage to throw up on him more often. Or maybe he is upset since Troy was helping me.

Dad and I also drive in silence, but it is less comfortable. I don't think he knows I'm pregnant, but I think his sixth sense is telling him I am hiding something from him. I hate lying to my father, but I don't know how to come up with the words to tell him. I'm going to have to find them soon, my belly is starting to get rounded. I ask Dad to stop by the Grand with me so we can try to get some video footage of whoever used the credit card to rent the suite. He is reluctant because he is sure that Weevil did it, but he agrees to help me. He asks how I want to do it, but I don't care what act we use. He decides on pregnant daughter and furious father. My heart stops beating for a second when he says those words, but he doesn't look like he knows.

I manage to get really into the character of pregnant girl who doesn't know who the father is. Yay for method acting. It makes me want to cry to hear the anger in my father's voice at the pretend thought that a boy could get his little girl pregnant. Luckily tears only work in our favor. We don't get any video, but we do get a room service receipt. I'm surprised to see Caitlin Ford's name.

Weevil had promised to stop by later, but Cliff calls to tell Dad Weevil turned himself in for the credit card fraud. I like to think this means he trusted me enough to figure out who was really guilty without his help, but somehow I bet he did it because he figured I would never be able to find the real culprit. I'm not sure if I have the right to be angry, but I am. The anger doesn't stop me from getting her phone records.

Dad gives me a ride to school in the morning and I am glad to see my car is there and intact. Quite the miracle indeed. I can only hope it is a sign that it'll be a good day.

I find myself looking for Weevil everywhere we go. The disappointment when I remember where he is fuels my resolve to figure out who the real culprit is. I start with her phone records. I camp out in the girls bathroom and start dialing. There are only eight numbers and the first seven are worthless. Who calls moviephone that often? The eighth number is busy, but I have a hunch about it so I have dad look it up for me. Chardo Navarro. Ouch. He steals Logan's family's credit cards so he could take Logan's girlfriend out in the style to which she was accustomed? And then he let his grandmother sit in jail until his cousin stepped up and went to juvie? With family like this who needs enemies?

I have a sudden urge to talk to Chardo and quite use my taser on him, so I open the door and look down the hall. I see him and he is heading towards me, but Logan is passing by me, heading towards Chardo in a blind rage. Looks like I'm not the only one to piece everything together. After a moment's hesitation I grab Logan by the shirt and pull him into the bathroom.

"What the fuck, Veronica?" he asks as he glares at me.

"Is he really worth getting suspended?"

"Is who really worth getting suspended?" Confusion has lessened his anger slightly.

"Chardo," I answer softly. Logan and I haven't been friends in a long time, but I still don't like talking to him about something so hurtful. "I know that he stole your family's credit cards to take her out. I'm so sorry Logan."

"He's the one who stole the cards? FUCK." He turns and hits the wall. "You have to be kidding me? He stole from my family, from me, so that he could fuck my girlfriend."

"Yeah, he's a real winner, right?"

"So why am I not beating the shit out of him now?"

"I promise he'll pay for what he did, but you know this is not the time or the place for it. I'm going to go talk to Mrs. Navarro, and then I'm going to talk to Weevil."

"If you think I'm going to leave it like that you're crazy. It's great that you want to feel all helpful, but I don't need your help. I can take care of this myself."

I can see tears starting to come to Logan's eyes and my heart squeezes just a little. "I'm sorry. I didn't realize she was this important to you."

"She was my girlfriend, why wouldn't she be important to me?" I can't quite figure out how to reply to that, but Logan continues, "No, you're right. I don't really care about Caitlin at all, but that doesn't mean I would have cheated on her. Why does this keep happening to me? Is every girl I go out with going to cheat on me?"

I reach over and give Logan a hug because I don't have any words to offer him. I want to tell him of course not, that'll he'll find someone who is able to love him as much as he loves them, but I know that'll sound like an empty promise even if it's not. He shakes in my arms until the bell rings. His eyes are cold and full of purpose when he leaves without a single word.

I talk to Mrs. Navarro after school, but it is not easy for me to get her to turn Chardo in. She knew it was him, How could she not since he gave her the necklace? Chardo is eighteen and she is hesitant to send him to prison. It isn't until I stress that it was all for a rich white girl that she agrees to send the right Navarro to prison. Third time is a charm, right?

Weevil is home a few hours later and Mrs. Navarro can barely contain her excitement. She hugs and kisses him profusely, but even when he sees me there he doesn't look embarrassed. I like a tough guy that can take loving from his grandmother in public.

"Didn't you hear? The bad guy was already in jail, V." He smiles and I can tell he was joking. He holds out his arms and says, "Give me some loving." He hugs me warmly and whispers, "Thanks." into my ear.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N I still don't own any of the characters**

So I got Weevil's grandmother and Weevil out of juvie. I stopped a tramp from cheating on...well there really is no word for what Logan is. I have made a friend (take that high school guidance counselor!). I think I have earned some father daughter veg time. This is how Dad and I ended up in the video store. As he grabs Slap Shot yet again I realize I should have defined this father daughter time a little bit more.

After loudly expressing my displeasure I turn to the geeky kid behind the counter and roll my eyes. "How many times can a girl be expected to watch Slap Shot really?" I joke to him. I don't know why I directed my comment towards him, he just seemed so sad.

His whole face acquires a happy gleam and I wonder what I've gotten myself into. "So is it true your dad's a PI?" he asks nervously.

"That's what it says on the sign."

"And you work with him?"

I find myself tensing up waiting for the punchline. I get the sinking sensation it isn't coming and I am instead walking myself into someone else's problems. "Sometimes," I say carefully.

"Do you think I could talk to you about something?"

Crap, someone else's problem. Well at least this might earn me some extra money. "Sure."

The kid's eyes dart around. "It's kind of private."

"Find me at school tomorrow." Dad walks up announcing he'll get Cowboys too and my eyes roll. We've rented and watched both of these movies at least five times. I mime that to the boy who laughs nervously as my dad pretends not to noticed me bouncing around mouthing words behind his back. I've really missed father daughter quality time nights.

When we get home, armed with Italian take out and our movies, Dad immediately shoves Slap Shot into the DVD player before I can say anything. With a smile I grab my carton of lasagna and curl up o the couch. With a smile I groan. "Do we have to see this movie again, Dad?"

"Veronica, this movie is a classic. Stop trying to break my heart with your moaning and groaning." He grins as he plops himself on the other side of the couch with his dinner.

Forty-five minutes later I groan again, but it is not because of the movie. "Why did you let me eat my entire dinner and four pieces of garlic bread? I feel like I might explode." As I cradle my bloated belly I am filled with the desire to curl up against my dad. There is no place safer than my dad's arms. I wonder if he would be able to accept my overly full excuse as to why my belly was protruding. I doubt it. My father is certainly not lacking in the suspicious or curious departments. That is not how I want him to find out. I draw my knees up and wrap my arms around them, pretending they're his.

I almost tell him a dozen times as we watch the movie, but everytime we get close he would look at me and I lost all of my courage. I'm afraid of his reaction. It's not that I think he'll hurt me, I know he'll always love me. I'm not really afraid of what he'll do to the guy who did it to me, part of me wishes he'd have better luck finding him than me. It seems pretty hopeless now, with little to no evidence. No, I am really afraid that his eyes will lose that adoring spark I see everytime he glances my way. Some things are more precious than words, and I don't know how I could live with his eyes drowning me with his disappointment. I just can't stand to see that kind of a transformation again.

_ I loved the way his eyes reflected everything he found beautiful in me. Who needs a mirror when someone is willing to look at you like that? I didn't even like him the first time that Duncan asked me out, but when I looked and saw such devotion written plainly in his eyes, how could I say no?_

Lilly stood over by a group of older guys, and I was starting to debate going over and joining her. Guys were never obviously rude to me when they were trying to hit on Lilly. I guess they could tell that ignoring the best friend is such a turnoff for a girl. I just hated the feeling that people were only being nice to me because they were afraid not to. It was actually a problem Lilly caused a lot for me because let's face it, none of my friends from school would have had anything to do with me if it hadn't been for Lilly. I was lucky she helped me to become friends with so many people.

Duncan was sitting across from me, staring at the last piece of pizza. I was pretty sure that Lilly was not going to come back and sit with us, and I was starting to get a little frustrated. Lilly's brother was ok, but he was not my best friend and it was not my plan to spend my day with him.

With a start I realize he's been talking. "....and I mean it's totally cool if you're not interested, I just think it'd be a lot of fun if we went to see it."

I sit there, blinking, trying to guess at what I should be seeing. "Umm, yeah, sounds like fun. We should see if Lilly wants to go."

He gives me a strange look. "I doubt Lilly would be interested in seeing the Lord of the Rings movie. That's ok, because I really thought you and I would have a great time together."

Duncan looks up and shyly makes eye contact. I'm shocked at the gentleness, caring, and hope swirling about. I consider turning him down because it's cruel to go out with someone you don't like, right? Of course the only guy I've really been interested in is that new kid Logan, who is hanging off of Lilly's every word with the rest of those mindless goons over there. I can't help shake this feeling of dread that this is the wrong choice because how can it be a good idea to date your best friend's brother, but I still find myself saying. "Sure, sounds like it'll be fun, Duncan."

It certainly wasn't a fiery passion, but his excited grin did feel me up with a comfortable warm feeling. Maybe this wouldn't be such a bad thing. 

I know my dad isn't going to start ignoring my very existence, but I can't shake the feeling that all I've done is disappoint the people I've cared about. Lilly, Duncan, my mom, and now my dad.

After dad has put away the movie and our father daughter fun night is officially over I finally am able to open my mouth, "Hey, Dad?"

"What is it, Sweetie?"

My mouth goes dry and the world spins around. "Nothing, I just wanted to say I love you."

Dad grins and comes over to kiss me on the forehead. "That is never nothing, Veronica. I love you too."

I was still trying to figure out the best possible way to tell Dad the next day in school. I was so preoccupied that I literally bumped into Troy. I smile shyly, but I can't think of anything more than hi to say. I have the sudden urge to ask him out, but that's craziness so I tell him I'll see him later. Disappointment flickers across his face and I now have one more person to add to my list. Veronica Mars, never ending disappointment.

I catch sight of that geeky kid from the video store. "Justin, his name is Justin" I remind myself. I grab his shirt and pull him towards my office, the girls bathroom. His face looks stricken as he realizes my destination.

"I don't think I'm supposed to be in here," he stammers nervously.

I suppress the sigh dying to escape. "Do you want to talk?" I ask without patience. I have more important things I could be doing with my time.

"Yeah, do you think you could help find someone for me?" he asks with a little more confidence in his voice.

"Who?" I really wish this kid would just spit the story out.

"My father." I feel like someone has punched me in the stomach and knocked the air right out of me. "He ran out about ten years ago. I haven't heard from him since."

Justin may have continued talking, but I stopped listening. The room started to go black and watery as the tears I was fighting threatened to leak out.

I don't know how much time passes before I feel a hand on my shoulder. "Are you ok, Veronica?"

The concern in his eyes is genuine and even though I don't really know this kid I find myself beginning to sob. He couldn't have looked more shocked or hurt if I had hit him.

"Look, I'm sorry. Just forget about it, ok?" He awkwardly rubs my back as he speaks. His efforts at comfort are pathetic, but they are heartfelt patheticness.

I try to smile through my tears. "Really, I don't mind helping you. It's just a touchy subject for me right now. I'm sorry."

Justin winces like I just hit him, and I manage to stop sniffling so I can try to figure out why. "Really, I insist. Umm, maybe I could even help you or something?"

There's no pity in his eyes, but there's something else I can't quite put my finger on. I shake my head no and head out of the bathroom. It's not until I am back in the hall that I realize I probably should have helped Justin to leave unnoticed and that the bathroom wasn't a bad place to be crying. I'm just about to run back in when I feel warm arms embrace me. For one second I lean in and enjoy the comfort I find before I pull away to see whose shoulder I am crying on.

I try to pull away when I realize it's Weevil, but his arms stay firmly around me. It's not that I mind Weevil comforting me, but I am worried what his boys will put him through if they see us. "What's wrong, Veronica?"

The genuine concern in his voice makes me start crying again. He pulls me closer and gently rubs my back while murmuring comforts into my ear. He steers me to the right, and we enter an empty classroom. He looks at me patiently as my sobbing slows down, but he doesn't repeat the question.

After a minute I say, "It's nothing really. Sorry to get you all worried."

He snorts. "Try again, V. I'm not buying that. Who made you cry."

"It wasn't really his fault."

Weevil interrupts me with a hissed, "Who?"

"Really, I'm ok. It was a freshman named Justin, but it really wasn't his fault. He wanted me to find his father and it just got me thinking about what my baby is going to do when they're old enough to wonder who their father is." My voice cracks several times, but I manage not to start crying again. I can't tell Weevil the other reason I was crying. I can't tell him that I'm so afraid my father will leave me like Justin's did when he finds out I'm pregnant.

"Oh, Veronica."' Weevil gives me another hug, and I realize this is the leader of the local gang trying to comfort me. "It'll be ok, V. We'll figure out who did it, but do you really want someone like that to be a father to your child?"

The thought of having the person who raped me play a part in my child's life gives me the chills, but I can't help but wonder if the child should have a say in that at some point of time. "Well, no, but I don't think I should make that decision on my own."

His face contorts in anger. "You plan on letting the bastard have a say in that decision?"

"Of course not. Someday I think I'm going to have to explain everything to them and then it'll be up to my baby to decide. I'd like to be able to at least give them that."

I'm not sure how long I sat there in Weevil's arms, but as I heard a bell ring I remembered we were at school and I really should get to class. I tell him as much and he nods. He pulls my phone out from my bag and programs something into it.

"If you need anything call me, ok Veronica?"

I nod and big my lip to keep the tears from falling again. Damn messed up hormones. "Thanks." I hesitate before I ask, "Weevil, why are you being so nice to me?"

He shrugs and walks away. I wonder if I've offended or embarrassed him with my question.

The rest of the day is uneventful. I eat lunch with Wallace again, who is turning into a really great guy. I'm dreading the day when I have to tell him I'm pregnant. I am getting used to having people be nice to me, and I'm not sure how well I'll take a second shunning.

I bump into Troy after school. His face lights up and he says, "Why if it isn't my damsel in distress. Will you be needing my services this evening?" He tries to grin suggestively, but it looks comical and I can't help but giggle as I shake my head in negation.

"Ah excellent, so now that we have established that I am free for the evening, would you like to go out with me. You could show me all the crazy fun hang outs in Neptune."

I find myself being charmed by his easy going banter, but I think my growing belly and wonder if this is really the time to be starting a relationship. I tell him no and his face falls, but he shrugs and walks away. I feel a flash of anger at what the bastard who did this to me is costing me. How many times will I have to pay for some jerks inability to keep it in his pants? I take a deep breath and swallow my anger. I can't stay angry. I can't risk letting that anger get transferred onto my innocent baby. I'll start clean for them.

I pick up Chinese on the way home because I have decided that tonight will be the night I tell Dad. I'm scared he'll disown me or something, but I have to do it. It's just like pulling off a bandaid. You have to do it fast so it hurts like Hell, but it fades away quickly.

"Hi Honey, I'm home!" I hear my dad call. I look up and smile at him. The takeout food has already been dished out and is on the table waiting for him. As his eyes reach the table they light up with excitement. "What did I do to deserve a daughter like you?" He comes over and gives me a big hug. I can't help wondering guiltily what he did to get a daughter like me too. "Let's eat, I'm starving."

Dinner is quiet which is sort of normal because we are Mars' and there is food to focus on, but I can tell it's more quiet than normal. As Dad is clearing the dishes I know this is my best moment. "Dad, I have something I have to tell you." There it is, there is no going back now. My dad is not the type to accept the cliché escape route of "I love you."

He turns to look at me and I am glad I am sitting because my knees turn to jello. My dad has an intimidating look, but I've never been this nervous. Not even the time Duncan, Logan, Lilly, and I stayed out all night drinking instead of going to the dance. I take a deep breathe and dive right in. "Dad, I'm pregnant."

He drops the plate he's holding, and I wince as though he threw it at me. I wish he had thrown it at me. I have the funny feeling I'd rather not be conscious for this conversation. He forces out a chuckle. "For a second there I thought you said you were pregnant."

His eyes implore me to confirm he misheard me, but I came this far and I can't back down now. "Umm, yeah, you heard me right. I'm so sorry, Dad."

"When? How? Who?" he manages to sputter as his face gets more and more red.

"Shelley's end of the school year party, the usual way I suppose, and I'd really like to know that myself." I look down at the floor and watch my tears roll off my nose and drop to the surface.

I glance up to see Dad has moved right in front of me. I can see he's fighting to speak and finally he manages a slightly mangled "How?"

I look back down at the floor because I really can't go through this and see my father's face. "I...I think someone drugged me. I only had a couple drinks, but I fell asleep on a pool chair and woke up in a guest bedroom minus my underwear."

"Veronica," he says and I look up automatically. He opens his arms and I gratefully lunge into them.

I mumble "Daddy," into his shirt even though I haven't called him Daddy in years.

"Why didn't you come to me, sweetie?"

I hate the sound of guilt in his voice. I pull away and his arms reluctantly release me. "I was so afraid. I already lost one parent, and I couldn't lose you too." I'm sobbing now, and he pulls me back into his arms. His shoulder will be soaked here soon, but I doubt he'll notice.

"Veronica, I love you. I will always love you. No matter what."

I still can't stop crying because I've heard those words before, and I don't still think Mom loves me. She may have said that, but if she loved me she would have stayed. Even if she couldn't be with Dad she should have stayed in town for me. A girl needs her mother. I swear to myself that I will never abandon my child.

"Why didn't you go to Lamb?"

"I did, but he told me there was nothing he could do." I figure the wizard comment will bring Dad to Lamb's office and that can truly lead to nothing good.

His face is beet red now, and I take a step back. "I'm so sorry, Daddy."

His face collapses and I realize he's crying too. "It is not your fault. None of it is your fault. It's not your fault." He hugs me again and keeps murmuring that it's not my fault into my hair. I wonder for a second if it's really me he's trying to convince.

I cry so hard I can barely breathe, and after several minutes Dad picks me up and carries me to my room. He sets me down gently on my bed and rubs my back soothingly until I can fall asleep.

I wake up several times during the night and each time I panic before I realize Dad is sleeping on a chair next to my bed. I'm so afraid I'll wake up and he'll realize what a mistake he made and he'll be gone.

I wake up in the morning to find his chair empty, but I can hear him banging pots and pans around in the kitchen. I smell waffles. The scent of bacon sends me running for the bathroom where I spend several minutes. Stupid morning sickness. I emerge shly into the kitchen. Dad grins at me and I wonder if we are going to pretend my confession will go ignored.

"I thought I'd make you a big breakfast this morning. I'm sure last night sapped your energy and you'll need it now." I smile at the implied acceptance of my baby.

I nod and say, "Hold the bacon though, please."

His face falls slightly. "I thought you loved bacon."

"I did, I mean I do, but not right now. I don't think the baby is a fan of it."

He laughs. "Your mother couldn't eat any beef while she was pregnant with you."

We eat in silence until he clears his throat. "Honey, where are we going from here? What can I do?"

"I don't know how, but we need to figure out who the baby's father is." I can tell by the way my father doesn't meet my eyes when he nods in agreement that it is a doomed mission, but I can't help it. I have to know because there are several things the baby's father, my taser, and I need to discuss. If Dad doesn't get to him with the shotgun first.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N still just borrowing the characters....and feedback helps me write faster!**

I bump into Troy on my way into school. I know that I haven't been fair to him, so I joke weakly, "We need to stop meeting like this."

His face lights up, and I hesitate again. Am I really being fair to him? I suppose there is nothing wrong with the two of us being friends, right? He grins, oblivious to my debate and says, "Perhaps then we could meet at my place this Friday around eight o'clock. I'm having a little party and I would love if you could come."

I laugh. "Being at an 09er party is not exactly my idea of a good time."

I start to walk away, but he gently grabs my arm. I look at him and he is grinning. "Well, since it's not my presence that offends perhaps I could take you out for dinner tonight."

I can't help smiling at him. I can feel my resistance crumbling away and I nod slowly. His whole face lights and, and he says, "I'll pick you up around seven thirty. Ok?"

I nod again and with a smile he is gone, as if I will change my mind if I stare at him too long. I can't stop smiling as I walk down the hall to class.

"What happened to you, girl? Find the toy in your cereal this morning?" Wallace asks me with a laugh.

"Is a girl not allowed to be happy?"

He laughs again. "I'm sorry, you're right. So if it wasn't a toy in the cereal box what brought on this good mood."

"Do I really need to have a reason?"

"No, I guess not. Hey, could the fact I saw you talking to Troy be that reason you don't need to have?"

I can feel my face go red. "Maybe, since when did you start spying on me?"

"Well, I have this friend who is kind of like a private investigator and I guess it is sort of rubbing off on me. Speaking of your sleuthing skills, think you could help me out with something?"

Just as I open my mouth to answer the question the bell rings. "Saved by the bell," I joke. As Wallace's face falls a little bit I continue, "I'm joking, tell me about it at lunch?"

"Thanks, V. I knew you'd help me out."

Open and caring home environment, check. New friend, check. Potential boyfriend, check. If things keep falling into place like this I'm going to get spoiled.

Wallace wastes no time finding me at lunch. I listen patiently as he tells me about his big crush's stupidity with her money. It is amazing what people will believe when they see the giant dollar sign flash in front of them. With a huge sigh I promise to help. It's not like I can really afford to turn down the potential fee if I am able to get her money back. A quick phone call to the number given in the email with a perky character of Amber and a quick call to change my outgoing voicemail seals the deal. Veronica Mars is on the case.

The guy calls me back and I schedule to meet him that afternoon. It shouldn't take me long to talk with the scum and have Wallace tag him with a tracker. Should leave me with plenty of time to get ready for my date. Picture perfect plan.

Wallace comes with me, so he can plant the bug on our thief's car. Georgia comes to, so she can make sure this really is the same guy. After actually talking to Karl I am shocked anyone fell for his act. I offer to write him a check, and I have to force myself not to laugh as he launches into some excuse why it has to be cash. This scum is going down.

After he is gone I go over and talk to Wallace and Georgia. Before I can say anything Georgia blurts, "That wasn't the Karl I gave my money to. It's weird though, he was wearing the same clothes and had the same lame backpack."

Interesting. Perhaps Karl had a partner. "You think you can handle following him tonight?" I ask Wallace.

His eyebrows go up slightly. "You aren't coming?"

"I already have plans," I say as I squirm uncomfortably hoping he will let it drop.

"Plans huh?"

"Maybe Georgia will keep you company," I say hoping this will distract him from my date.

"Of course I'll come, but I don't know what help I could be."

"Oh, don't worry. I've got the sleuthing covered. It just gets a little lonely on these stakeouts," Wallace says as he slides his arm over Georgia's shoulders. With a smile I walk away to give them some privacy. Who am I to stand in Wallace's way? Plus I have my own date to get ready for.

As I pull into my parking space I am relieved to see that Dad's car is missing. I'm still not sure if it is fair of me to be dating Troy, and I don't want to involve my dad until I have to.

Troy shows up exactly on time. I can't help but smile when I see him. It's been a long time since I felt like a normal girl about to go out with a normal boy.

_ Lilly was nice enough to help me get ready for my date with Duncan. She was happy her best friend was going to be dating her brother, but I could tell I had been testing her patience with talking about him endlessly. She helped me pick out a short denim skirt and a low cut pink shirt._

"Are you sure he'll like me in this outfit?" I ask nervously.

"Veronica, how many times do I have to tell you it's just Donut! You really need to spend less energy worrying about how he'll feel and focus on how hot you feel."

"I know it's just Duncan, but it's my first date. I'm really nervous. What if I do something wrong?"

"Veronica, he's hopeless over you. There is nothing you could do to make him realize he doesn't like you because he really does. Now, what time am I picking you up for shopping tomorrow?"

I could tell Lilly was tired of talking about Duncan again, so I let the subject turn to idle planmaking for the weekend. This does not stop my stomach from churning nervously.

Duncan pulled up in a limo, but instead of having the horn honked he got out and came to the door. Lilly and I watch him walk up to the door giggling. He has a bunch of roses in one hand. He rings the doorbell and Lilly shoots up. She weaves in between my parents to get to the door first.

"Duncan! What a surprise. Roses? For me? You shouldn't have," Lilly teases as she blocks the door.

My dad clears his throat. "If you don't mind Lilly, we'd like to get some pictures. It is our little girls first date."

My face goes red. If Duncan didn't know it before he certainly knows what a loser I am now.

Lilly shrugs. "Have fun, Veronica. I'll call you later." She turns to Duncan, "Take good care of her, Donut," and with a wink she squeezes past him.

Duncan hands me the flowers and awkwardly says, "Hi. Ready to go?" He looks past me to my parents. "Good evening, Sheriff and Mrs. Mars."

"Good evening, son. I trust you are going to take good care of Veronica this evening? Don't forget I do hold the keys to the county jail cells."

"Of course, sir. She's in good hands." Duncan flashes that famous Kane smile, and I feel my knees grow a little weak. Maybe this date wouldn't be so bad. 

I answer the door when Troy knocks. He peers over my shoulder. "Is your dad here?"

"Oh, I'm sorry. I thought tonight was the night you were taking me out. I'll let dad know his date is here."

Troy laughs shakes his head. "Don't worry. I am definitely not into your father. I just thought he might have been here to meet me."

"Nah, I chased him away to save you from the three hour interrogation. I was really hungry and I didn't want to be late for dinner. I'll sacrifice you to him another night."

"Why, Veronica, does that mean I will be getting a second date?"

I can feel my cheeks turning red. "We'll see how good a date you are first. Let's consider this a test drive."

"A test drive, huh?" Troy's eyebrows rise. He waves his arms waving me out the door. "Your chariot awaits madam. Drive away. I hope that you enjoy the ride."

I roll my eyes as I walk past him. He hurries to reach his car before me and opens the door. "I hope Italian will be ok with you?" he asks as he holds open the door.

"You do your research well. Who told you that Italian is my favorite?" I ask as I laugh and step into the car.

Troy holds his arms up and shakes his head. "Who me? It was just a lucky guess combined with the fact that it's also my favorite."

We pull up to the restaurant and I have to admit that I am a little impressed. It's not the most expensive place in town, but it does happen to be one of my favorites. It's a small family run hole in the wall place called Bennetti's. We walk into the building and I am surprised to see that it's empty. It may not be the hottest spot for the rich and famous, but it is usually fairly busy.

As our waitress shows us our table I gasp when I see how romantic it is. Troy must have called ahead or come by before picking me up. There is a vase of flowers in the middle and small votive candles dot the table. Underneath that is a lace tablecloth instead of the usual white linen. Next to the table is a bottle of champagne cooling in a bucket of ice. Troy pulls my seat out and pushes it back in once I sit down.

When Troy sits down a man planning a violin comes and starts to play right next to the table.

"Troy, this is-"

"You don't have to say anything. I know how wonderfully amazing it is. You  
just can't believe how lucky you are to have me, can you?"

His over confident smirk makes me smile. As sweetly as I can manage I say, "Actually I was going to say it was a little over the top."

His smile falters and a fierce look crosses his eyes. "Over the top?" he asks, his tone completely without emotion.

I force out a laugh. "Ok, remind me not to joke around with you. It's nice, really."

Troy's face relaxes and the waiter brings us over two salads. He pours us each a glass of the champagne.

Halfway through the lasagna course my phone rings. I look and see that it's Wallace. "Could you excuse me for a minute?"

An angry look crosses Troy's face, but it is gone almost as soon as it came. I shrug it off and answer the phone. "How'd it go?"

"Well it's clear you are a better private investigator than me..." Wallace says.

"What happened? You lost him?" My spirits sink.

"Who said anything about losing him? You really should work on your assumptions Veronica. I tracked him down. You'll never guess the secret of our little Karl."

I let out a sigh of relief. I knew I could count on Wallace. "What'd you find out?"

"Karl is an actor. He got a call this morning from someone claiming to be hiring him for a job on a punking show called Duped."

"You believe him?"

"Yeah, I really think he believed you guys were going to be on tv."

"You get the number of whoever called him?"

"Of course. I'll text it to you as soon as we're done."

I look up at Troy, and I am a little concerned to find him glaring at me. "Look, Wallace, I really have to go. I'll look up the number tonight when I get home, ok?"

"Sounds good. Enjoy your date."

I hang up before he can start singing or doing something equally humiliating.

"Ready to go?" Troy asks curtly.

I blink at him for a minute before it dawns no me that he is jealous. I nod and wordlessly follow him out of the restaurant. He stops and holds my door open for me. I lean into his stiff form and give him a light kiss. I get into the car before he can reply. He doesn't say anything as we drive towards my house, but I can see his scowl has been replaced with a smile.

I run the phone number and find out that it is from a pay phone at a place called Gameland. I call Wallace.

"Ever heard of a place called Gameland? It might be an internet cafe or an arcade or something."

"Yeah, I've heard of it. It's a gaming club where geeks from around the country come to compete and kill each other electronically."

"Ok, so I'll check it out tomorrow after school."

Wallace laughs loudly. "Did you not hear me? These guys wouldn't even know what to do with a girl. They only chicks they see are japanimated. You aren't going to really blend."

With a smile I say, "You let me worry about that. See you tomorrow."

I run into Duncan first thing on my way into school. He scowls the instant he sees me. "So I see you found your next target? Trying to ruin another innocent person's life?"

"See I can tell that you're talking, but when you spout gibberish I don't know what you mean."

He laughs humorlessly. "I always said you were a little on the slow side. Lilly's naive slow little shadow."

"Of course I am a little slow. It took me how long to realize what a dick you were?"

Duncan's face turns red. He turns away and sees Troy. "Hey man, what's up?" he calls out, completely ignoring my insult.

Troy makes eye contact with Duncan, but then just keeps walking. He smiles warmly at me and stops. "Veronica, can I borrow your phone for a second?"

"Sure, I guess." I say as I notice Duncan scowling and walking away. I hand Troy my phone and he immediately starts to punch some numbers into it.

At my questioning look he smiles. "You dazzled me with your kiss last night, so I forgot to program your phone to be Troy friendly. Feel free to call me anytime."

He hands my phone back to me. With an overly enthusiastic flourish I reply, "You mean my phone is now booty call enabled?"

"I am clearly not going to deny you a booty call, but I mean it Veronica. You can call me for anything."

The bell rings and Troy heads down the hall in the other direction. For the second day in a row I can't control the grin taking over my face. If I keep this up people may start to mistake me for a normal happy teenage girl.

Troy comes up to me at lunch. "Have you changed your mind about coming to my party Friday night?" He leans in to kiss me gently. "Because I really don't think I'll be able to enjoy myself without you."

"What?" I ask sarcastically. "You will not be able to enjoy the kegs, drunken bimbos, and all the other good times without me? Somehow I doubt that."

"Who me? Enjoy a drunken bimbo? Never. I will just sit in a corner pathetically unless you come. Please save me."

"Well as long as you are clear that I am only coming to save you."

His face breaks out into a large grin. "Shall I pick you up?"

"No, I'll drive."

"So it's a date. Hey, Veronica? One more question. Friday is Homecoming, I know. Did you want to make an appearance? Clearly we can't stay long, I can't leave the drunk bimbos alone with the keg or anything."

Troy's nervousness makes me smile. "No, I really don't want to go to Homecoming." The last thing I wanted was any reminders of who I used to be. Homecoming would be too full of memories of Lilly, Duncan, Logan and I. Not really something that ended well, so I clearly don't want any reminders of it.

After school Weevil comes up to me. "Can I talk to you a second?" he asks without fully facing me.

"If you're not too afraid to be seen actually talking to me."

He smiles and I know it was my reputation he was concerned about. "I don't have a lot of time," I continue. "I was on my way to check out some geeks who stole some money from a friend."

"Mind if I come with?"

"Why on earth would you want to visit the kingdom of geeks with me?"

"Who knows, you might end up needing some protection and that would be a lot of fun. Plus I really do want to talk to you about Lilly."

"Ok, sure." We reach my car. "Climb in. I have to swing my place to change."

We sit in silence for several minutes. Weevil finally clears his throat. "Does your dad really think Jake Kane did it?"

"I don't know. I know that he really did want to explore that possibility. He believed the Kanes were covering something up, so Jake was a very logical suspect."

"What about Celeste?"

"They were each other alibis, but my dad thought it was pretty clear they were lying, so I guess she is as likely. You really think Celeste could do it?"

As soon as the words left my lips I knew they were stupid. Of course she could do it, and what's more she would without a second's thought. Celeste disliked Lilly and the shame that she insisted on bringing to the family.

We reach the apartment complex, and I park the car. "I shouldn't be long. You want to come in or wait in the car."

"I'll be out here. I have some business I have to take care of."

I hurry inside and get changed. I head back outside with less speed and more dread. Weevil and I may have struck an unlikely alliance, but I had a sinking feeling it wouldn't stop him from laughing when he say me dressed up like I just walked out of something japanimated.

I am sadly not mistaken. Weevil had been talking on the phone when I walked out the door, but he soon let it drop to his side as he laughed hysterically. "Wait, I have got to get a picture of this. If I knew this was the kind of work you did-"

I cut him off before he can finish his vulgar comment. "Either get back into the car or stay here. I don't have time for this, Vato," I say with all of the danger I can muster.

"Chill, Veronica," Weevil says as he climbs back into the car. I get back into the driver's seat , but we don't resume our conversation. We sit in silence the entire drive to Gameland.

Weevil sees our destination and his eyebrow shoots up. "You're going to go in there dressed like that?"

I pull my taser out of my bag and zap it in Weevil's direction a couple times. "I can't take care of myself." I put it away again. "Besides, I'm probably not even going to need it. This is like the head geek clubhouse."

Weevil shrugs. "If you're not back in ten minutes I'm going in there."

"Oh, yes, please save me from the skinny geeky boys."

Weevil glares at me. "Fifteen."

"This is so amazing. One could actually mistake you for having a heart!" I exclaim sarcastically as I walk towards the entrance.

I walk in and can feel eyes on me from all directions. A little creepy, but I walk to the front desk. I hand over one of my fake ids and am given an earpiece in return. The man doesn't say a word to me, but I think i can figure out how to play.

I sit down on a couch between two of the geeks. After watching the game for a minute I stand back up. "Can you watch my stuff?" I ask the geek who couldn't keep his eyes off of me. He nods in affirmation dully.

I find the computer that lists all of the current players. Scanning quickly the name Grrrantula catches my attention. The email that Georgia got was from grrrantastic-tech. I don't believe in coincidences, there's no such thing in Neptune. I type in the name Gamegirl, put my earpiece in and head back to the couch.

All of those hours playing video games with Duncan and Logan paid off. I immediately attacked Grrrantula. I heard someone call out, "Hey, cut the crap! I'm on your team, lamer," but I wasn't able to pin down who said it. Come on, Grrrantula, show yourself.

A few more attacks and he was dead. Perhaps he needed a bit more bait. I jump out and say, "Ownage!"

A boy stands up and says, "Hey! It's not ownage, I'm on your team!" Got you. The boy who had been ignoring me to my other side also stood up and glared at me.

"You ready to go yet honey?"

I blink in confusion as I realize it's Weevil. I turn around. "Haven't you played enough yet?"

Both boys look over at him and sit back down. With an exaggerated sigh I pick up my bag. "As long as you make it up to me later. I just have to turn this thing in and get my id." I'm not sure what Weevil is playing at, but I have what I need.

The man who took my id asked me gruffly, "Name?"

"Devlin," I answer.

He flips through the D's and looks at me in confused defeat.

"Come on, honey."

"He can't find my id."

"Let me look for it, it'll take less time," Weevil says as he glares at the guy.

The guy behind the counter shrugs and hands the id organizer to Weevil. He pulls out two ids and grunts a thank you to the man behind the counter. He puts his arm around me and leads me towards the door.

"So this is what we came all the way out here to the nerd capital for? And what did Mr. Grant Winters do to you?"

"It wasn't to me. He stole some money from a client of mine."

"And you're thinking about returning the favor?" Weevil's eyebrow goes up as he speaks.

"Up for a little sleuthing with me. Apparently he lives in Lannigan Hall at San Diego State. Shouldn't be too difficult to figure out what room, right?"

We get to the hall and I am glad to see it's not particularly large. Pushing Weevil away I stop the first person to walk by.

"Hi, I was hoping you could help me with something. I'm hear to visit my cousin Grant Winters. I know he lives in this hall, but he didn't tell me what room number. He doesn't know I'm coming, you see. I wanted to surprise him."

"Really? I didn't know that kid had any family in the area. He's in room 106 down the hall that way." She points to the left. "Hey, can I ask you a question?"

I shrug and say, "Sure."

"Is it true that he like grows drugs in his dorm room?"

My eyebrow rises. "Not as far as I know, but I haven't seen my cousin since he moved in, so I guess he could be up to anything. Why do you ask?"

"Everyone says that's what he does in there. My roommate's best friend's roommate lived next to him last year and said the wall was always extra hot." With a glance around she spoke much more quietly, "You know, from the heat lamps."

"I guess I'll find out. I hope it's nothing like that. I'd hate to have to tell my Aunt her son has been up to something illegal." The girl looks a little nervous, like maybe she hadn't told rumors of illegal behavior to a relative. I force a laugh and continue, "Of course even if it was true, I'm sure we could work something out. Thank you so much for all of your help!" I hurry down the hallway in the direction she indicated.

I turn down the hall, and stop when I am completely out of the girl's line of vision. After a few minutes Weevil turns around the corner and joins me. "It's funny the way you didn't know your own cousin's name an hour ago," he says with a smirk.

I don't bother to reply to his comment as I continue to walk down the hall. Room 106. Here we go. I knock really loudly. It is absolutely no good breaking into a room if someone is home. After waiting a few minutes in silence I turn back to Weevil. "Think you could handle making yourself useful and keep a lookout for me?" I ask Weevil as sarcastically sweetly as I can manage.

With a huff of contempt he turns and keeps an eye down the hall we just walked down. Pulling out a set of lock picks from my bag I get to work. It takes me about ten minutes, but I finally hear the lock click and the knob turns in my hand.

As soon as the door opens a loud alarm goes off in my ear. I stand there frozen in place until Weevil says, "Can you hurry up, V.? I'd like to not get arrested tonight."

With a start I get moving again. I know that I can't count on having enough time to really search the place, so I pull a bug out of my pocket and place it behind some very dusty books in a high shelf.

Hurrying I head to the door and grab Weevil on my way down the hall. "Let's hurry and make your dream of not being arrested again come true. At least for tonight, I'm not a miracle worker, you know."

Weevil again doesn't say anything, but continues to walk rapidly towards the entrance to the building. As we enter that first corridor we hear voices.

"I told you to leave the room locked! What if something happened? How stupid are you?"

"I did leave the door locked! Someone must have broken in or something. You haven't lost your key or anything have you?"

Weevil suddenly shoves me against the wall and leans in. Before I can even blink he is kissing me passionately.

When the voices fade away into silence Weevil pulls away. "Is that how you woo the girls in your side of town, Vato?" I ask as I furiously wipe at my mouth.

"I'm sorry, next time I'll let the bad guys see you and possibly connect the dots between annoying blond girl in the game arcade with the same girl in their dorm right after it gets broken into. Please forgive me for trying to protect you."

A flush creeps up my face, and I wonder if I was mad at Weevil for kissing me or because I liked it. "Weevil-"

"Let's just get out of here." Weevil turns away from me and heads back towards the car. Great Veronica. Please, do continue to alienate all of the people who want to help you. There's a never ending line of them just waiting to take his place.

When we get to my car I take a deep breath. "Look, I'm really sorry Weevil. I am just a little touchy with guys touching me since..." My voice trails off, but I don't have the strength to finish my thought.

Weevil comes over, the angry look on his face completely vanished. He stands silently as I try to regain my control. After a deep breath I open up the car and turn on the radio.

"I have to listen to them. See if I can hear anything useful," I say with pride as my voice only shakes a little.

Weevil nods without saying anything.

The boys are still arguing over who left the door unlocked. It doesn't seem like they truly believe someone broke in, and they are relieved to find that nothing is gone.

As I listen Weevil comes up to my open door. "Look, I'm only going to say this once and you better not expect a repeat performance. I'm not good at this stuff. I'm trying to help you out here, but don't be surprise if I fuck up again."

I nod. "It wasn't like I thought you were trying to hurt me." I wrap my arms around my stomach. "It's just it's not just me I have to worry about protecting anymore, you know? I'm all there is between the world and my baby." As I finish my sentence I am caught, frozen in the finality of really saying those words. My baby. It's official, I'm really going to be a mother at seventeen. Before I can do anything to stop myself I can feel hot tears rolling down my face.

Weevil pulls me into his arms without saying anything. We stand outside my car in silence until I hear Grant and his roommate talking about leaving. "Give me your phone."

Wordlessly Weevil hands me his phone. I dial my cell number and get to voicemail. I hold the phone to the radio in order to send myself the code to the alarm.

"We should probably go. Dad's been a bit overprotective of me lately."

I drop Weevil off at school so he can get his bike. I get home surprisingly before Dad does.

As I wait for Dad to come home I look up Grant's phone number. This is normally something dad would do, but I'm not sure how thrilled he would be that I'm still sleuthing. "Hello, I'm from admissions. Is Grant Winters available?"

"This is Grant."

"Hi, this is Sarah Brown. We have a prospective student we would love-"

"Sorry, my roommate and I don't like tours. We don't host."

"That's a shame. We are really hoping to snag this kid, and he asked for you specifically."

"I'm sure he did," Grant said smugly.

"It's really too bad. The university was planning on giving you all exclusive tickets to the premiere of the new Matrix online game at Gameland tomorrow night. I guess we'll have to try to convince him to go with someone else. Thank you anyway for your time."

"Hold on." That's it, I've gotcha now. "I guess we could show the prospective around this one time."

"Really? Thank you so much! We'll send him to your room tomorrow with the tickets."

We disconnect without any further conversation, and I call Wallace. "Hey, I think I found the guys who took Georgia's money. You're going to take a tour of San Deigo State with them tomorrow."

"Wow, V., how did you know I wanted to hang out with the guys that robbed my girl?"

"Lucky guess," I say with a smirk. "Just be a good accomplice and make sure they are out of the house tomorrow so I can search their rooms. I told them you have tickets for a preview of the Matrix Online game. Take them to Gameland. Let me know when you're on your way. Oh and dress geeky, you're going as a prospective math major."

"There is no way you can take the cool out of me, Veronica. They're going to see right through this."

With a smile I say, "I'm sure you can manage," as I hang up the phone. I figure I must have been asleep when dad comes home, but there are donuts for breakfast and that usually means he was out all night. Just what I need in my life, another mystery.

School is pointless, everyone is talking about the Homecoming dance. I'm really glad Troy didn't try to make me go to that too. His party should be just about as much torture as I can endure. Why did I let myself agree to go to that again? Oh right, he's the first sweet and cute guy to look at me without scorn in much longer than I care to admit.

Wallace gives me the text when I am turning into the parking lot of Grant's dorm. I knew he could pull it off.

I break into his room a lot faster this time. I quickly type in the code and the alarm stops going off. A quick look around the room confirms this will not easy, as there is no giant pile of cash for me to take back. Luckily, I was counting on this being hard. I pull a note out of my bag and leave it on one of the keyboards. Next came the really fun part, I got to take apart their computers to steal their hard drives.

I did a little research last night and I found that they claim to be almost done with a game that will make Quake look like Tic Tac Toe scratched on the dirt. I figure the best place to really make it hurt for them is to take both their hard drives.

After freeing both of them I zip up my backpack. Mission accomplished. As I head towards the door some cables leading across the ceiling catch my eye. Who needs power for their giant box. With a sigh I get back out my tools. It has to be another hard drive. The safe proves to be much more difficult to crack. I dump one of the abundant caffeinated beverages into the grates on the top. If you can't steal it, make sure it's no longer useable.

To my surprise the door swings up to reveal a slightly sizzling hard drive. With a shrug I grab it too and take off. I wouldn't put it past these guys to have an alarm on the safe as well. After all, it isn't their money they've been spending on their fancy security system.

I call Wallace and tell him to wait for the phone call. I let him know I'm going to drop the hard drives off at his house. He would not be home because of the dance, but he promised his mom would leave them inside for him.

"You sure I can't talk you into coming?"

"And be a third wheel to your first real date with Georgia? I'll be fine. Besides, I think I might check out Troy's party later."

"You want me to come? It would be a great personal sacrifice, but I guess I could swing by the hottest party in school. Only for you though, V." His concern was clear despite his teasing tone near the end.

"I think I'll manage. Give Georgia the full Homecoming experience."

Despite my silky black dress I feel horribly underdressed for Troy's party. The rich of Neptune have turned Homecoming into a second Prom complete with the dresses averaging a thousand dollars. With a sigh I continue up to Troy's door, ignoring the staring and whispers around me.

I step into the hall and immediately regret it. I haven't been to a party like this since Shelley's, and I had never planned on doing it again.

"Veronica! I'm so glad you made it," Troy says as he sweeps in and kisses me. "Let me get you a drink."

"Umm, no, I'd rather stay sober tonight."

Something flashes across Troy's face, but before I can fully capture it, it's gone. "Can I at least get you a soda then?"

"Sure, I guess." As Troy walks towards the kitchen I realize I am now stuck in the middle of people who all hate me. What a night I'll never forget.

Troy comes back and hands me the glass. I take a small sip. Pepsi, I hate Pepsi, but I swallow another sip to be polite. I set the drink down and wrap my arms around Troy. I whisper in his ear, "Is there anywhere less crowded we can go?"

His face lights up. "Sure, right this way m'lady."

As I am walking in the direction he indicated he stops me. "Don't forget your drink."

"It's all right, I'm really not thirsty."

"Take it anyway, you might be thirsty later."

Why is this so important to him? "It's just soda. If I am thirsty later I will get another one." I speak slowly, trying to convey my annoyance.

"I'll bring it for you. I'd hate for you to have to rejoin the party."

We walk in silence up to what I assumed to be Troy's room. He immediately pushes me onto the bed and jumps on top of me, kissing me savagely.

I pull away. "Troy, stop. I want to take this slower."

"You really know how to let a boy down, don't you?"

I laugh nervously, hoping this is just a joke.

"You think I'm kidding? I was told you were a really great time if I could get you drunk and drugged enough. How am I supposed to do that if you won't drink?" He sneers and pushes me back down.

I whimper. "You were told? By who?"

He snorts. "Who didn't tell me you were an easy fuck with some GHB and alcohol in your system. It's really too bad because now I'm going to have to do this the hard way."

I scream and pull away as much as I can. "Why?"

He starts to run his hand up my leg as I scream louder. I bite his hand as he covers my mouth with it, and it is his turn to scream. "You little bitch!"

I manage to wriggle out from underneath him, and I run for the door. He lunges after me, but he doesn't knock me to the floor until after I swing open the door. "Help me!" I yell into the hallway.

"Veronica? What's going on here?" I look up to see Logan. "Get off of her, man."

"Go back and enjoy the party, Logan. This is none of your business. I'm just doing a friend a little favor."

"I said to get off of her." There is ice in Logan's voice. I've never heard him so mad.

Troy gets off of me slowly, kicking me in the back as he stands. "Fine, she's all yours. Let me know when you're done so I can have my ride."

Logan punches Troy before he can finish steadying himself, so he falls hitting his head on the floor. He groans, but he doesn't get back up.

"Come on, Veronica?" Logan helps me to my feet, but I sink back to the ground as I sob uncontrollably. Gently I feel his arms cradling me and suddenly I am moving.

After a while we stop and I try to wipe my eyes enough to see where we are. "Where are your keys, Veronica? I'll drive you home."

"In my purse, but I can't go home yet. I don't want my dad to worry."

Logan nods and sets me down gently. He reaches in my purse and takes out my keys. He opens my door and helps me to sit down. "Any particular destination in mind?"

I shake my head numbly. I can barely think. I thought Troy was a good person and he did that? Logan, who hates me, saved me? It's a crazy night, but I don't think I can take anymore craziness.

Logan stops, and I look out to see the beach. He doesn't make any move to get out of the car though. I decide it's time for me to say something. "Thank you, I don't know what I would have done."

Logan smiles at my wryly. "You would have thought of something. You don't need saving anymore."

I feel my throat closing up. What would I have thought of? He had my arms pinned. I couldn't have fought him or got to my taser. Before I can stop myself I say, "No, I wasn't able to stop it before, and I doubt I would have been able to stop it tonight."

Logan's hands clench the steering wheel tightly. "Before? Troy did that before?"

"I don't know who, but he wasn't in town yet. At Shelley's end of the school year party last year. I had a couple of drinks, but I woke up alone sans my underwear." It felt good to be saying this out loud to someone, even if my voice was shaking.

Logan looks at me. "Are you ok?"

I want to finish my story and tell him about my baby, but I can't find the words. His hand finds mine, and soon I knew nothing more as exhaustion claims me.


	5. Chapter 5

I wake up in a blind panic struggling to figure out where I am. I can feel someone's hand on my shoulder shaking me gently, but as the memories of Troy's party trickle into my mind I gasp. As the hand withdraws the rest of the night falls into place, and I am able to relax as I realize I am still in Logan's car.

"I would have let you spend the night in the car, but even a tiny thing like you needs more space, and I am not facing your dad after keeping you out for a whole night," Logan says with a small smile. The lightness in his voice is forced, but I find myself relaxing anyway.

"Thanks, Logan. Really, you didn't have-"

"Yes, I did. We are friends-"

I try in vain to stop the snort that escapes quite loudly from me. "Friends, Logan? Funny, I hadn't noticed the relationship while you were at best ignoring me and quite often laughing at jokes I was the butt of. Not quite what I call friendship."

Logan sighs and runs his hands through his hair. I feel slightly guilty for making him feel this bad, but I ignore it and open the door.

"Fine, we were friends. We were once friends, and I am funny about seeing people I have ever cared about be raped. Must be that pesky conscience I can't get rid of."

Slowly I nod. "Yeah, we used to be friends. Tell your conscience I said thanks." With a smile I turn towards the door and start to get out of the car.

"We-I didn't know, Veronica. I know you won't believe me, but no one hates you that much. We had no idea what happened to you."

Determination lines his face, and I wonder if he is able to believe his lie. With a sad smile I say, "At least one person knew, Logan. And he's been bragging."

As I walk to the front door I can see Logan running his hands through his hair from the corner of my eye. I have very little reason to, but I find myself believing just how ignorant Logan had been of that night. It feels good to be able to regard one of my old friends with something other than contempt.

I open the door and I almost slam it shut as I catch sight of my dad's rage. "Where have you been? Do you know what time it is? I've been going crazy worrying about you. Why didn't you at least answer your phone?"

With a wince I realize my purse including my phone is still at Troy's house. With a deep sigh I turn away and say, "I was at this party-"

"You were at a party? Veronica, I know you're a teenager, but do you understand the responsibility you have to your child? How could you be so thoughtless?"

I can feel two hot tears trickle down my cheeks. How can I explain to my father that I had been sure this was my last chance to feel desirable. Soon my condition will be all too apparent, and that whole sexy single mother thing is so last year. "I made a bad choice, I'm sorry, Dad. It won't happen again. I've learned my lesson."

Upon hearing the bitterness in my voice his expression softens. "Are you all right, Veronica?"

"I'm fine. I just found out that Troy wasn't who I thought he was." I can't meet Dad's eyes, but I can feel them searching me. "Can we finish this in the morning? I really just want to get some sleep. It's been a long night."

My dad steps forward and embraces me in his arms. "Of course, sweetie. Get some sleep." With a kiss to the top of my head he let's me go. I can feel him watching me until I close my bedroom door.

Numbly I get ready for bed. I didn't realize how much I was counting on this thing with Troy to be it for me for a while. I shouldn't be this shaken up over a guy I hardly knew. Just goes to show you that anyone can look like a prince charming, but really have a stash of date rape enabling roofies in their pocket. Maybe it's not such a bad thing that I plan on avoiding the dating scene for a while.

I'm exhausted, but as soon as my eyes close all I can see is Troy's furious face. It's over an hour before I finally slip into oblivion.

_ "Veronica Mars I will not listen to anymore of this last chance for happiness talk. You wouldn't have been my best friend if you weren't absolutely fabulous. You'll come out of this ok. Stop being so melodramatic, it's not like someone bashed your head in or anything."_

"Lilly, I'm so-"

"Oh, Veronica, please! It's not so bad being dead. Just think, I'll never grow old and wrinkly. Besides, that is so not the point. We were talking about you there for a second."

Lilly turns away from me and I can see the bloody gash in her skull. I can't help but turn away. Lilly doesn't show she notices but continues talking. "I worry about you, Veronica Mars. This whole martyr thing you have going is so passé. You really should try to accept more help."

"I know, it's just so hard to choose between the hundreds of offers of help I get everyday."

"Oh come on, Veronica. You can't lie to me. I've noticed you gathering the support of several young men these days. Accept it. You could use the help. You're in much deeper trouble than even your overly dramatic mind can imagine." 

With a start I wake up panting and looking around the room intent on finding Lilly hiding somewhere. As I realize what my eyes are searching for I berate myself silently. Lilly is gone and she isn't coming back. That becomes my mantra as I slip slowly back into sleep.

I don't wake up again until the morning. As I walk into the kitchen I caught sight of something yellow in the corner of my eye. I turn fully towards the window and am shocked to see it's Logan's car. I turn back towards Dad and look at him questioningly.

"I thought you would know. He's been there all morning. I went out and told him that you were sleeping, but he said he could wait. I think he might have nodded off for a while himself. Want me to go get rid of him?"

Dad's tone is light, but I know he will chase Logan away if I tell him that's what I need. I shake my head in negation and head towards the front door. "I think I can handle him."

As I approach Logan's car I can see that he is indeed sleeping. Stifling a grin slam the side of his car as hard as I can.

"What the fuck?" Logan shoots up and looks around frantically. As his eyes focus on me he slumps back down into the seat. "Good morning to you too," he says sarcastically.

"Sorry, I couldn't help it. It was wrapped up with a little bow and delivered onto my driveway. I thought Christmas came early this year," I reply, grinning. "Seriously though, what are you doing here?"

"I just...I don't know. I guess I wanted to make sure you were ok." Logan looks up at me as he finishes speaking. Something intense is swimming in his eyes, but I can't label it.

"I'm fine, Logan. I'm sorry if I gave you the impression that I am constantly needing saving. You didn't have to come."

"Look, I get it. You can take care of yourself. Be the badass new you, it's not like I want you to change. I like the new Veronica. I wish Lilly could have seen her, but do you have to chase away those of us who would like to get to know the new you?"

There's frustration in his voice, but I get the impression it is not solely being aimed at me. I bite back my sarcastic retort and look at Logan for a second. "Fine. You can see that I'm fine. Was there anything else?" I say trying desperately to hide the frustration in my voice.

Logan sighs, "Yes, I also thought you might like this back." He holds up my purse.

"Thanks, how did you get it?"

Logan grins. I persuaded Troy to give it back. I thought you'd want it." He starts his car and I take a step back. "See you later," he says without looking at me.

"Yeah, later." I start walking back towards the front door. Halfway there I turn around and see Logan hasn't driven off yet. Our eyes meet and I say, "Thanks, Logan."

He nods and pulls away. I walk back into the house where Dad is pretending he has been sitting on the couch reading instead of spying on us through the drapes. He raises an eyebrow in a silent question, but I just shake my head and continue towards my room.

After my shower, as I am eating lunch with Dad, Wallace calls me to invite me over. I can't help hesitating though. It's not that I don't think Wallace is a good person, but maybe this whole friends thing is just for other people. It just doesn't seem to be working for me.

"Come on, Veronica. You have to come. I'll even let you pick out the movie. I have Ben and Jerry's."

I can't help but smile. "Fine, but you are so going to regret letting me pick out the movie, Fennel."

"I already do, Mars, I already do."

Still smiling I hang up the phone and grab Sixteen Candles and Say Anything. I also swing by the kitchen and grab: two bags of microwave popcorn, a package of twizzlers, and some chocolate syrup. I turn and see dad looking at me questioningly.

"I'm going to hang out with Wallace. Watch a couple movies. I shouldn't be out late or anything."

Concern fills his eyes, and I can see him struggling to hold them back.  
"It'll be ok, chick flicks and junk food would totally be the doctor's orders."

Dad smiles. "I was going to ask why you were taking our entire kitchen with you, but I guess that is also important."

"He's no Mars, Dad. I doubt he understands the importance of movie munchies. Don't worry, I'll be patient with him."

I can see Wallace try to hide his groan when he sees what I've brought with me. I shake my head in mock disappointment. "These are classics, Fennel. More importantly, have you ordered a pizza yet?"

Wallace looks a little confused. "I thought we were just going to eat ice cream," he says a little hesitantly.

"Wallace, you have much to learn about hanging out and watching movies. I only hope I am in time to save you. Go get the movie setup, I'll handle snacks."

I shove the movies into Wallace's hands and pull out my cell phone. "Hey, Tony. I need a large supreme pizza as soon as possible. No, I'm not at home." I give Tony Wallace's address and have him put the pizza on our family tab. It's good that we kept a few friends when dad was kicked out of the sheriff's office.

I hunt around in Wallace's cupboards until I find a huge bowl. I pop the two bags of popcorn and pour them into the bowl. I find two smaller bowls and make two bowls of ice cream with generous portions of chocolate sauce on them. I bring the goodies out to Wallace, arranging them on the table.

"You really do take this movie night thing pretty seriously, don't you?"

"Food is not something the Mars clan takes lightly. This is nothing, if I had been given more notice there might have been Snickerdoodles."

I dig into my ice cream and motion to Wallace that he should do the same. Melted ice cream is just not the same. "You should eat it while it's cold." Wallace takes a couple bites while I finish mine. The doorbell rings. "Ah, and there is our pizza."

Wallace raises an eyebrow at me and as I walk towards the door, but he makes no comment.

I carry the pizza back to the ouch where Wallace is waiting. I look around for Wallace as I realize the movie cued up is Apollo 13. "I thought you were going to let me pick out the movies."

"Did I forget to mention my veto rights? My bad." Wallace grins and pushes play. As the movie starts he grabs a piece of pizza from the box. "You're right, a movie is better with pizza," he grins and leans back into the couch.

Halfway through the movie Wallace takes a bathroom break. The movie and case are completely hidden by the time he gets back. Say Anything has started on the screen before he gets back.

"What happened? That is cold, girl. Steal a guy's movie while he's gone for five minutes?"

"Tell you what, if you can find it than I will finish it with you."

Wallace pokes under a few couch cushions, but gives up relatively fast. With a deep sigh he sinks back onto the couch. "Do we at least have any more pizza?"

"That would be a no." I focus intently on the screen.

"Are you serious? I had like three pieces!"

"I warned you that I took my snack foods seriously. Some people just can't be helped."

I catch Wallace sneaking looks at me periodically through the movie. "Is there something worth staring at?" I ask him with more than a little frustration.

"I've just never watched a chick flick with a girl who didn't cry."

"Am I to understand this correctly? This is not the first chick flick that you have watched? It's a shame, but your street creed is so going to be ruined now."

"You think I have street cred? I can't be doing everything wrong if someone still believes that."

We finish the movie without talking. I help him clean up the remains of our movie snacks.

"I should be getting home. Dad gets mopey if I make him eat dinner alone."

"Aight. We should do this again."

I wonder if I'll still have a movie buddy in a few more weeks when my slightly baggy clothing isn't enough to hide my bulge. I struggle to keep my voice even. "Sure, next time at my place. I want to take advantage of this veto policy."

"Hey, where is my movie?"

I can't help grinning. "You'll find it sometime."

"You're a dangerous girl to cross, aren't you?"

I can't help hoping Wallace is right.

I get home to find a note from Dad telling me he had to go to Arizona to chase a bail jumper. He should be back tomorrow and he wrote that Cliff would be more than happy to have me spend the night with him. That is a very tough choice. Stay in my own home and have the place to myself or head over to a filthy bachelor pad. Tempting indeed.

After dinner I call Cliff and let him know Backup and I are going to stick it out in the Mars household.

"Are you sure? I'd love to have you. We could pull out the old Clue box out and play. I could give you some sleuthing tips while we play. You'd be doing me a favor, keeping me sharp."

"Tempting, but I'm fine. I think I'm going to just go to bed early. Thanks for the offer."

As soon as I hang up the phone it rings again. Logan. "Should I be concerned that you're stalking me?"

"Can you meet me so we can talk? I really need to see you."

I have never heard Logan sounding so desperate. "What do you want?"

"Please, I really need to see you."

I'm tempted to say no and hang up, but I can't help thinking of what would have happened if it hadn't been for Logan last night. "Fine, where are you?"

"I've been driving around. I'll be there in five minutes."

"Again, should I be worried that you're stalking me?"

Logan ends the call without responding, and I start to really get worried. What could Logan want that he has to tell me in person?

A knock on the door interrupts my worrying. I open it to see Logan, but he looks like he hasn't slept in a week.

"Are you ok, Logan?"

"Huh? Yeah, I'm fine." He looks around the living room nervously. "Ready?"

"You didn't sneak up on me when I was sleeping and ask me on a date, did you? Because I've told you time after time that it's not a date unless the girl was conscious when you asked her."

"What? No, nothing like that. I just want to talk."

Logan leads me to his vehicle. I bite back my comments about his yellow xtera. We drive in silence which does nothing to lessen my anxiety.

Logan parks at the beach again. There's something soothing about the sound of the waves, and I hope this is a good sign.

I get out of the car and wander a little ways down the beach. Logan follows me silently. I sit down on a rock , but he continues to pace around. He runs his hands through his hair, and he won't look at me.

I'm tempted to break the silence, but I decide to give Logan a little more time. A few minutes feel like an eternity, but finally he speaks. "I want to talk to you about Shelley's party last year."

Instantly all of my muscles tense uncontrollably. "Look, I shouldn't have said anything. It's ok." Logan snorts as I claim I am ok. "Fine, I'm not great, but there's nothing that can be done about it now."

"What do you remember about that night?"

"Scathing glares of hatred. Two drinks. Waking up in the morning alone with clothes missing. Clearly it was a night full of fun."

"That's all you remember?"

"Yeah, I think someone slipped me some GHB. Troy mentioned something about hearing that last night." It suddenly hits me that Troy knows exactly who raped me. Who else would have told him what a great time I was after I'd had some GHB? I make a mental note to have an in depth conversation with Troy and my taser.

Logan gulps and runs his hands through his hair. "GHB? He said that specifically?"

My eyes narrow. Maybe I don't need to talk to Troy. It sounds like Logan may know something important as well. "Yes, why?"

"I don't remember much of that evening either, but I think I remember a lot more than you. I walked in on Duncan and Dick..."

Logan's voice trails off, and I bite down on my lip to try to be patient. "You telling me what they did won't make it any worse, Logan. Whatever it is I need to know."

"They were doing body shots while you were laying on one of the lounge chairs. I told Duncan to leave you alone, to find a conscious girl. He glared at me without saying anything for a minute. Finally he laughed and handed me a drink. Told me to lighten up, but he and Dick headed into the house. I went inside to get you some water, but you were gone by the time I got back. I asked around, but no one saw who you'd left with. I got, uh, distracted from my search for an hour or so." Logan turns all the way away from me.

"Distracted?"

"I don't even remember who it was. Just some nameless bimbo who seemed intent on keeping me entertained. I'm sorry, I didn't put up much of a fight."

I know I should say that it's ok, but I can't force the words out. I don't want to blame Logan, but it would be so much easier if I had someone to blame.

"We went towards the guest rooms to get some privacy. We walked into one room and you were on the bed. She tried to pull me away, but I told her to get lost. You were whimpering softly on the bed. I looked around, but there was no sign of whoever brought you up there. I tried to tell you that it would all be ok, but you grabbed my arm and held tightly. You were so afraid, you made me promise not to leave you."

Tears are streaming down my face. "If I was so scared why did you leave? If you wanted to help me so badly why didn't I wake up to find you holding my hand?" I hate the way my voice is wavering, and how fast the tears are coming.

"Veronica, I am so sorry. I wish I could say something that could make it better." Logan stops talking, and I can't help wondering if this is it. He sighs and runs his hands through his hair. "Somehow, while I was holding your hand we ended up kissing." I feel like my blood has turned to ice.

"I don't know how it happened, but you were kissing me and telling me how much you needed me. I think...I think I'm the one who you were with that night."  
"You raped me?" Logan cringes at my voice.

"I didn't think it was rape! You said you wanted me, I wanted you. I didn't know you didn't remember it. I thought you knew, Veronica."

I struggle to regain control of myself. "If it was so great and mutual and special why did I wake up alone, Logan? If you wanted me so badly why were you gone in the morning?"

"Duncan was looking for me. I could hear him calling me, and I didn't want him to find me, to find us like that. I'm so sorry, Veronica. What can I do to make this better?"

"Oh, I had no idea. Of course everything is fine now, Logan. So I'm good enough to rape, but you're ashamed to be caught in bed with me. Bygones!"

"I didn't think it was rape. I was drunk and fucked up and it was stupid, but you have to believe me when I say I didn't think I was raping you."

"As long as you didn't know you were raping me. That makes it all better. Who cares if I woke up traumatized and pregnant. Logan didn't know he was raping me. How dare I be so upset."

I don't realize what I've said until I look up at Logan. We sit there in silence for several minutes. "You're pregnant? Why didn't you say anything?"

"You're right. It's such a source of pride, I really must work on my advertisement of the fact that I am going to be an unwed teenage mother." I stand up and start to walk away.

"Wait, Veronica." He grabs my arm and I flinch.

"Leave me alone, Logan. Don't you think you've done enough?"

"What else can I do, Veronica?"

"Nothing," I shout. "There is absolutely nothing you can do that will make this better. Just leave me alone."

I walk away down the beach until I can't see Logan anymore when I peek behind me. I sink down to the sand and let myself sob. When I can catch my breath I pull out my phone. My hand shakes as I dial the number. The phone rings so many times I'm afraid I won't get an answer.

"What do you want?"

"Weevil, I need a favor."


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N I still don't own anything and feedback makes me write faster!!**

Weevil shows up after what feels like only minutes. Relief fills me, and I realize how terrified I am. He sits on his bike looking at me for a very long minute before he slowly makes his way to me.

"You ok, V.?" he asks, voice full of concern.

I try to stop myself, but I can't help laughing. Soon my hysterical laughing has turned to sobbing. Weevil pulls me into his arms, and I can't help wondering if Weevil was always this much of a softy.

"What's wrong, Veronica?" he asks in a surprisingly soothing voice.

I open my mouth to try to answer, but I find the words just won't come. I pull out of his arms and look away. "I don't want to talk about it."

"So really all you wanted was a ride? Should have known I couldn't be anything but wheels to you, V."

"Weevil, it's not like that," my voice trails off.

"Yeah, right. Let's go." His eyes are full of hurt and anger. Guilt creeps into me. Here is a guy who has done nothing but try to help me, and I'm pushing him away. Lilly's words from my dream echo in my head. _ "Oh come on, Veronica. You can't lie to me. I've noticed you gathering the support of several young men these days. Accept it. You could use the help. You're in much deeper trouble than even your overly dramatic mind can imagine." _

"It's just been a really long night, and if I talk about it it'll be more real." I feel tears trickling down my face, but I don't move to stop them.

Through the tears I see his facial expression soften. He reaches over and brushes the tears off of my cheeks.

After a minute of silence I look down at the sand. "I know how did this to me." My hand rubs across my belly as I speak. I continue to stare at my feet.

His hand gently cups my chin and draws my head up so I am facing him. "Who?" he asks, his voice hard.

"Does it really matter? I'm still going to have this child all by myself. You can't change what happened, you can't change that."

"Who says you'll be doing it all by yourself?"

"You're right, I'll have some help, but it's not the same thing. I'm doing this alone, so what does it matter?"

"Cause it'll take me way too long to bash every 09'er who was at that party's nose in."

That image makes me smile. "And that's a bad plan because?"

Weevil lets out a laugh. "That's really what you want? It would be fun." I shake my head in negation. "So who was it?"

"I'm not sure I want you to punch him."

"Duly noted. So whose lights am I not punching out?"

"Logan's," I say softly after a long pause.

"Echolls? Logan Echolls did this to you? Why am I not hunting him down?"

"I don't know. It's just, it's Logan. I'm still trying to process this."

"I can't believe you, Veronica. You're going to let that spoiled, rich, white, boy get away with it? He does that to you, and you're going to do nothing?" He is shaking with anger.

"I'm sorry that it's not all so easy for me. No, I don't plan on doing nothing, but I need more than twenty minutes to process and plan. I need some time to accept that an old friend violated me and turns out to be a shithead who couldn't have ever cared about me." I'm crying again, but I don't care. I'm tired of everyone and everything. I'm furious and unfortunately Weevil is the only one within range. "Do you think this is easy for me to handle? You can't know how I feel. You don't know how I feel!" I yell at him. He looks away and some of my anger dissipates back into guilt. I consider apologizing, but I can't make myself form the words.

After a minute I finally manage to say, "Please just take me home?" I hate the need in my voice, but it seems to melt the last of Weevil's anger.

"Yeah, sure thing, chica. Hop on." He tosses me his helmet.

I put it on and climb behind him. We arrive in front of my house in minutes.

"You going to be ok?" Weevil asks, turning to me with his face full of concern. He looks pointedly towards the house.

"I think so, I just want to sleep. He nods and I hand him his helmet back. He puts it on and starts his bike back up. "Thanks, Eli," I say softly as I start to head towards the apartment.

I feel numb as I go inside. I toss down my bag and head for the bathroom. Standing in front of the mirror as I let the water get hot I realize my secret can't remain secret for long. Other than Wallace I don't care what anyone thinks of me anymore. I'll have to tell him tomorrow. I really don't want him to know, but I'm sure he'll catch on in another couple weeks even if no one points it out to him.

I step into the steaming shower, but I still feel cold. I turn it up as hot as I can get it, but I am so numb I can't feel anything. Amidst the steam and warmth I can't keep my tears at bay anymore. How could Logan betray me like this? All this time I really thought of him as someone who would have my back if I needed him. Like with Troy the other night. I knew we weren't friends anymore, but I really still believed he still cared. What a fool I am.

When the water is stone cold I step out and avoid looking at my red and puffy face in the mirror. I can do this, I am strong enough to not let anyone or anything bring me down.

As I curl up under the covers something that I had been grasping for finally makes sense. If Logan was the one who raped me, who told Troy about how it was done? I can believe Logan could betray me, but I don't think he could fake the rage he was in. I think it was news to him which means someone else knew. Had Logan been bragging? Only one way to find out for sure. Turns out Troy and I needed to have a little chat.

Without turning on a light I pull out my phone. "Hey, Eli, I know you've been doing me a lot of favors, but I could use just one more. I really think you'll enjoy this one."

I wake up in the morning, several hours before my alarm goes off, gasping for breath. I can't remember my dreams, but I can't help feeling like a monster is lurking over my shoulder. I'm ready to go to school about an hour early. I'm tempted to call Dad, but after a night of bail jumper hunting he usually sleeps late, and I don't want to wake him. I decide to swing by Wallace's house instead. I really need to talk to him about the baby and I'd like to do it away from school.

I step out of my house and freeze when I see a familiar canary yellow XTerra parked in front of our building. As the driver's door opens I race back inside and slam the door shut. I lean up against it gasping.

"Veronica, please let me talk to you!"

"Has anyone ever told you that stalking is not the way to get a girl to trust you?"

Logan is silent for a minute. "You don't trust me?"

I can't help laughing, but I am afraid it is going to turn into sobbing, so I force myself to calm down. "You raped me and got me pregnant. Would you trust you?"

"Veronica, please...you know it wasn't like that."

I'm crying again so I move into the bathroom. I can faintly hear him knocking and Backup growling at the door for several minutes. I wash off my face and wait for everything to be quiet. I peek outside and am relieved to see Logan is gone.

I hurry to my car and speed to Wallace's house. His mom glares when she answers the door, but Wallace grins. "What's up, Veronica?" His grin falters as he gets a closer look at my puffy face. What I wouldn't give to be one of those girls who is gorgeous even when she's been crying for a week straight.

I force myself to smile. "Want a ride to school?"

I'm silently begging him to let it go and get into the car. After the longest minute ever he nods and calls to his mother, "Veronica's giving me a ride to school. See you tonight, Mom."

As we turn and head towards the LeBaron I groan as I see Logan followed me. He's racing towards us. "What do I have to say to you to get you to leave me alone, Logan?"

"Leave you alone? How can I leave you alone? You're pregnant with my child, Veronica."

"Thank you, Logan. That is exactly how I wanted my best friend to find out I was pregnant. And it's my child, not yours."

Logan has the decency to cringe and the colors drains out of his face. His mouth opens and closes without any sound escaping several times.

I push him out of the way and get into my car. After hesitating for a minute Wallace follows. I start the car and drive a few blocks before pulling over. "Wallace, I'm so sorry."

"I knew, Veronica."

"What?"

"I was just waiting for you to tell me yourself. I figured you'd do it in your own time, but I could tell."

"I was going to tell you this morning." We look at each other for a minute before bursting out into laughter. "How did you know?"

"Please."

"I really am sorry for not telling you sooner. I was just afraid how you would react."

"You cut down my butt naked self from the flag pole. It'll take a little more than a pregnancy to make me dislike you. I've got to ask though. Logan Echolls?"

I shrug. "I don't remember it. I got drugged at a party. I just found out it was him."

He stares at me. "And you didn't taser his ass just then because?"

"I don't know. Next time he follows me I'll be sure to take it under consideration." I start the car and continue driving towards school. "Thanks for understanding, Wallace. I should have told you earlier." Part of me still can't believe it was this easy. First with Dad and now with Wallace. Maybe Lilly is right, and I need to be a little more trusting. Of course, the whole talking to dead people thing can't be all that healthy either.

"No, problem. Can I ask you a question, Veronica?" Crap, here's the catch.

"Shoot."

"Do you really see me as your best friend?"

"Well, it was a close race, but in the end you beat out my imaginary friend Bob. Congratulations"

Wallace grins as we arrive at school. "So this means you're going to name the baby after me, right?"

"I'm sure my baby girl will always love you for giving her the name Wallace." He shakes his head and laughs as we get out of the car. "Thanks though, Wallace. I-"

"It's cool, I get it." He hugs me. "This is what friends are for."

I spot Troy pulling into a parking space a few rows back. I scan the crowds until I see Weevil. I nod to him once. "Hey, Wallace, I'll catch up. I have some business to attend to."

Wallace gives me a funny look, but walks away without asking me anything. I look back towards the school and am pleased to see Weevil is gone. Perfect.

Suddenly there is a large thump near the back of my car. Another couple of seconds go by and Weevil and Troy slide into the back seat. Troy is glaring as he nurses his already swollen eye.

"How good of you to join us, Troy. It's funny, but I wasn't completely satisfied after our last conversation." I pull out of the parking lot and drive in silence. Troy starts to speak once, but Weevil punches him again.

"Who told you about drugging and raping me?"

Troy laughs. "Who didn't? You're the biggest slut in school. Everyone told me stories of what you would do. Although I'm not sure you could call it rape. I heard plenty of tales about how you would beg for it." Weevil looks like he's about to hit him again, but I hand him my taser. Can't let the boy have too much evidence of this conversation. Weevil shocks him, and I grin as I see the pain etched into Troy's face.

"I'm only going to ask one more time. Who told you about drugging and raping me?" I'm proud that my voice is strong and steady.

"I can't tell you that!" Troy sounds desperate, and I allow myself a small smile. As Weevil prepares to shock him again he says, "No! Fine, you really want to know. It was Duncan you fucking slut. You really going to tell me your exboyfriend raped you? The boy who crushed your heart? I think you were just trying to get a little piece of what you were denied."

My knuckles go white as I clutch the steering wheel. Weevil hits Troy over the head with the taser and he slumps forward. I drive the rest of the way to Troy's house. Duncan? I had accepted he hated me now, but somehow this betrayal still hurt. I guess it makes sense that Logan would have told him. They are best friends. Something doesn't feel right, but I can't put my finger on it. It couldn't have really been Duncan who raped me, right? Why would Logan have confessed unless he did it?

As I pull up next to the sidewalk Troy groans. "Troy, I had a nice talk with your father. He found your huge stash of drugs, and he is done with you. It's too bad you have such a history with drugs or he might have believed they were planted there by some bitch you tried to rape. Although maybe that story wouldn't make him any happier. He's going to ship your ass off to military school. Maybe he could have forgiven the drugs, but he can't believe you got into it so deeply you had to give up your car to pay your debts. This military school is far away and I expect to never hear from you again. He should be home in about five minutes. I promised your bruised ass would be waiting for him. He thanked me so much for my dedication. He gave me your address to give to any of your more classy friends. It's already in the trash as is your phone. I really hope you enjoy military academy. Make they can knock some of the ass hole out of you."

Weevil and I manage to get him up to the front door where the butler is already waiting for us. We let him slump to the porch and turn away. I allow myself one look back, and am pleased to see just how pissed off Troy looks.

Maybe Weevil was right, there is something to this whole violence and revenge approach.

We get to the car and I take a deep breath. "You okay?" Weevil asks.

"I'll be fine. Thanks, I really appreciate all your help with this."

Weevil shrugs. "No problem, this favor was really pretty fun. Don't hesitate to call me anytime you want me to hit one of these 09'er pricks." He looks at me, and I know he's talking about Logan.

As we get back to school I hand Weevil one of the tardy excuse slips Wallace had given me. He looks at the paper and smirks. "You really think I'm worried about being marked tardy?"

I grin at him and turn towards the school. I sigh as I see Logan rapidly approaching us. I look at Weevil and he only rolls his eyes. As Logan gets to us Weevil blocks his view of me. I scurry towards the school, ashamed of how timid this all makes me feel.

At lunch Wallace asks, "Who you going to vote for?"

I blink at him in confusion. "Vote?"

"Student council elections. Duncan verses Wanda for president. You haven't noticed everyone going crazy about it?"

I shake my head in negation. "Not Duncan."

"Yeah, me either. Something about that Wanda chick just bugs me, so I doubt I'll vote at all. Should be interesting."

I look around the courtyard and notice all of the groups supporting Wanda. In going against the 09'ers she has gathered pretty diverse support. "I used to do pep squad with Wanda. She's all right. It'll be nice to see Duncan lose."

I don't see Logan for the rest of the day, but I have to shut off my phone because he calls me every five minutes. I make a mental note to grab a disposable phone from Dad's office after school. I head there to do some work and find that my dad is out. I go into his office to grab the phone, and I notice his safe is cracked open.

I really try to avoid temptation, but being my dad's daughter has not taught me how to control my curiosity. I thumb through the files and I am surprised to see one about Lilly. The dates are recent too. Dad's been investigating Lilly's death too? I quickly make copies of the file and stash them in my bag. I see a file of crime scene photos and after a slight hesitation I grab those too. I put the rest of the file back and leave the safe slightly open just like I found it. I grab the phone, leave Dad a note telling him I'll get dinner, and I leave.

When I get home I immediately throw together a meatloaf and toss it in the oven. I head into my room and scan the crime scene photos into my computer. I glance over some of the other information, and I can't help but feel frustrated. None of this screams to any suspect. The answer has to be here, but damned if I can find it.

Dad comes home just as I am checking on the meatloaf. "Good timing, it's just about done," I tell him.

He comes over and kisses the top of my head. "What did I do to deserve a daughter who has dinner ready as I walk through the door?"

We watch the news while we eat. My fork falls to my plate as a story about Abel Koontz comes on. It seems that he has fired his lawyer and will not be trying to appeal, but that's not what has caught my attention. As they talk about Koontz they show clippings of the evidence against him. Something seems wrong to me, but I can't place it. I finish dinner quickly and call the news station when I'm done. I ask for a copy of the news story, and they tell me it should arrive in a week or so.

As I'm climbing into bed I check my bed. I have thirty missed calls, and all of them are from Logan. With a sigh I call him back.

"Veronica-"

"Stop. Please stop calling me, stop trying to talk to me, stop pretending things can ever be ok with us again. I appreciate what you did for me with Troy and I appreciate your honesty, but I can't forgive and forget. I'm just not built that way." I hang up the phone and turn it off. I turn out the lights and get under the covers, but I stare at my ceiling for hours, wishing for sleep.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N Same disclaimer, I own nothing. This is the last of the previously written chapters...Chapter 8 should be up later today or tomorrow at the latest. Thanks to those of you who have reviewed, you don't know how much faster that makes me write!!**

I sleep very little, but I still feel energized as I get out of bed in the morning. Today is the day. Enough hiding, cowering in fear of what a bunch of spoiled rich kids will say. I get dressed, and I put on a shirt that has recently become too tight. Everyone I care about knows, and I've realized I just want to get it over with. Bring it on, Neptune.

Dad's eyebrow raises as he sees me, but he doesn't say anything as he hands me a plate of bacon and eggs. I shrug. "Can't put it off forever you know. I told Wallace yesterday. He took it like my best friend."

Dad grins and waves his hands. "Did I say anything?"

I can't help feeling afraid as I go towards the front door. Will Logan have gotten the hint? I notice Dad is watching me, so I take a deep breath and open the door as quickly as possible. I feel silly as I realize Logan is not waiting outside for me. With a sigh I take a step outside. Looking down I see there is an envelope with my name on it sitting by the door. I don't have to open it to know it's from Logan. So much for him taking the hint.

"Are you ok, Veronica?" my neighbor Sarah asks me, worried.

"What? Sorry, I'm fine," I say as I shove Logan's letter into my bag. "I must have spaced out there for a minute."

Sarah smiles and then her gaze travels across my body. Her eyes go wide and her hands rest upon her own swollen body. "Oh my God, Veronica, you too?"

I shrug self-consciously. "Yup, you just made it look so fun."

"Congratulations!" she says as she gives me a huge hug.

I'm surprised my eyes start to water up. Despite how well everyone has taken the news Sarah is the first person to congratulate me like this might not be the biggest disaster in my life.

"I was going to ask if you could give me a lift to my doctor's appointment tomorrow. Do you have a doctor yet?"

"Uh, no. I've been meaning to make the appointment, but..."

"Then you have to come with me! I'm sure you'd be able to see one of the doctors. I'd love to have a girlfriend to share this with."

I wonder briefly where her boyfriend will be tomorrow instead of at the clinic. "Sure, I'd love to."

"Great! Can you pick me up at nine?"

"Yeah, see you then."

I get to school, but I can't seem to make myself get out of the car. Hands shaking I pull out the envelope.

_Dear Veronica,  
I have no idea how to make you understand just how sorry I am. I had no idea you didn't remember what happened that night. I assumed you just wanted to leave it unspoken. Maybe that was wishful thinking on my part. Leaving it a simple wonderful evening instead of complicating both our lives. Complicating my life. I felt like I had betrayed both Duncan and Lilly even though I know that isn't true. If I could go back I would do everything differently except for making love to you. That I wouldn't trade for anything in the world. I wish I could make you remember how tender and perfect it was. If I could do it again I would have asked you out and made sure everyone knew about it. I'm so sorry I was too stupid to do that while I had the chance.  
I really want to be in my child's life. I want to support you and my child in any and every way possible. I don't just want to write you a check every month I want to be a part of my child's life. I want to be a good father.  
Please tell me what I can do to make this better._

Begging for Forgiveness,  
Logan

I wipe the tears off of my face as I hear a knocking on my window. Seeing Wallace I smile.

"You coming, V.?"

"Yup, just reading some junk mail." I can tell he doesn't really believe me, but we head towards school. We both stiffen up as the first whisperings and snickers float by us. I tell myself they don't matter, but a part of me wants to turn around and go back to my car.

The bell rings and the hall clears. Wallace gives me an apologetic look before heading into his classroom. I continue down the hall until I run smack into Logan. His eyes meet mine and we both freeze. His eyes are hopeful as he stares at me. This is Logan. Half of we wants to give him a huge hug, but the other wants to taser his ass until he can't get off the floor. "So much for space huh, Logan?"

"I didn't realize you wanted me to drop out of school. I'll get right on that," he says, sarcasm dripping from every word.

"I meant the letter."

"Veronica, I'm trying to leave you alone, but it's almost impossible. Do you know how many times I've picked up the phone and gotten to your name in my address book since I stopped calling? I had to try something."

"I don't know what we have to talk about, Logan. I have the problem, not you."

"But I want to be a part of it."

"That's really not your decision, is it, Logan?" I say softly.

He winces and looks away. "I guess not," he says sadly and I can't help feeling guilty. Only Logan could make me feel guilty for being angry with him for raping me and getting my pregnant. He's walking away before I can pull my thoughts together enough to answer him.

The quad was almost silent as I walked through to Wallace's table at lunch. Great there's a show with lunch. If only the show wasn't me. I smile weakly at Wallace as I sit down.

"Hey, V. How's it going?"

"Oh just peachy, you?" And for the first time I wonder how it is going for him. I hope he has not reentered the spotlight just because he's my friend.

Before I can answer something hits me in the head. As I lean over to see what it is I feel several more drop onto me. Condoms? Why would anyone be throwing condoms at me? I look up to see Dick midthrow.

"What hell, Dick, haven't figured out how to work the condom yet?"

"Right cause I'm the pregnant one. Thought you could use the help for next time. Can't have too many white trash babies running around crowding up the beaches and breathing all the air."

I feel my face growing red. I don't care what Dick thinks, but somehow I also can't think of anything to say. He throws another condom at me and my fists clench. I reach for my taser, but before I can stand Logan comes up and shoves Dick away. "Leave her alone, Dick."

"What the hell, man? Why do you care? She's just Duncan's used, slutty goods."

Logan punches Dick in the face and he falls off the bench to the floor. Logan just stands over him, shaking slightly.

"I didn't say I needed your help, Logan. I can take care of myself." I taser Dick even though he was already on the ground. I shove one of the condoms into his mouth and storm through the school towards my next classroom. The letters GED are starting to sound pretty good right about now. Whoever said high school is the best years of your life had better have been lying.

After school I try to track Duncan down. After a few minutes I find him, but he's surrounded by the usual suspects, no one I really want to see right now. Of course Duncan isn't too high up on my list either. With a sigh I head out to the parking lot. Nothing ever is easy.

It only takes me a few minutes to disarm Duncan's alarm system and break into his car. In a few minutes he opens the door. Upon seeing my grinning face in his passenger seat he cringes. "What the fuck, Veronica? Breaking and entering now? Is there any low you won't sink to?"

"Hmm, let me think about it....I know, telling my friends to drug and rape my exes. Although, I just might make an exception for you, Duncan."

"It wouldn't surprise me," he says cooly.

I'm slightly taken aback. I expected to get some reaction from him. Some admission of guilt. I should have known Celeste would have trained her son too well for that. "Now what will I get you as a surprise for your birthday?"

"You out of Neptune and my life forever?"

"Tell me what you told Troy, and I'll be out of your car forever."

"Troy? He's my bud. I told him lots of stuff. You want to know the best beaches for picking up chicks too?"

"You know what I mean."

"Can't say that I do."

I want to slug him, but instead I sigh dramatically and get out of the car. "I so wish we could have done this the easy way, Duncan." After I get a few feet away I call back, "Hey Duncan? Catch. You know how to put that back in, right?" I say as I throw him his spark plugs. Seeing your smug ass ex turn that red? Priceless.

I'm tempted to ask Weevil to help me interrogate Duncan the way we interrogated Troy, but I doubt it would help much. Duncan requires more subtlety. I tell myself it's not because I'm afraid.

Dad walks in with Italian take out for dinner. "Is that comfort food I smell?"

"Only if you're comforted by three pounds of manicotti," he says with a grin.

"Huh, would you believe that I am." I get out plates and start to set the table. "How was your day? Any big disasters I should know about?" I ask lightly.

"Can't a father buy his daughter a nice meal now and again?"

I give him a huge hug before sitting down at the table. Dad pulls the styrofoam cartons from the bag, and I am surprised to see he's easily bought twice as much food as we would normally consume. "Expecting company?"

"Gotta make sure my grandson will be big and strong. Have to fulfill that dream of mine to see my blood playing in Shea stadium."

He grins and I can't help but return his smile as I dig into my pasta.

After dinner Dad takes off to tail a cheating lawyer. Wandering around the apartment I can't help feeling restless. I need to be doing something. I need answers. With Duncan being difficult there is only one person left who might have some. With a sigh I text Logan. _I have some questions. Meet me at the beach in ten minutes._

I'm at our spot in five minutes. Memories of happier days are now overshadowed with Logan telling me how he fucked me and snuck out before I woke up. Definitely time for a new spot.

I see Logan walking cautiously up to me. He stops a few feet away and looks at the ground nervously. I take a deep breath and jump right in. "Why did you lie to me?"

His brow furrows. "I lied?"

"You told me you left me alone so Duncan wouldn't find out. You told me you never mentioned it so it could stay a secret."

"Yeah, I did. Would you have wanted your ex to walk in on us? I did try to keep it a secret. Why do you think I lied?"

"Because Duncan knows about it, and who else could have told him?"

Logan's face goes white. "Duncan knows? Are you sure?"

"Troy told me Duncan is the one who told him I was a lot of fun once you got enough GHB in my system. Why else would he say that? How else could he know?"

"I...I don't know, Veronica. I didn't tell Duncan, I swear. He's been so angry and hurt since Lilly died, I didn't want to add to that."

Tears are streaming down my face. "How can I ever trust you if you can't stop lying to me?"

"I'm not lying! Want me to ask him how he knows?"

"What? So you can lie again. Is this why Duncan hates me?"

Logan sighs. "You know he was...upset with you before the party, right? Duncan's just confused, but I swear I didn't tell him. Maybe I should have, maybe I should have told everyone."

My blood runs cold as Logan's sincerity starts to sink in. "But if you didn't say anything, how did Duncan know?" I can't ask the question I really want to ask. What if Logan wasn't my only visitor that night?

"I don't know."

"Would you mind trying to find out?"

Logan looks confused, but nods his agreement I start to walk towards my car.

"Veronica, wait."

I hesitate before speeding up. Tears are still streaming down my face. I believe Logan didn't tell Duncan, but that only makes things worse. I think I'm starting to lose some of my anger towards Logan and that terrifies me. I don't want to be one of those girls who forgives a guy for violating her. I will not be her.

I get home and get ready for bed. I take a long hot shower, and I don't get out until my skin starts to prune and I can't cry anymore. I climb into bed, and I can't help but hear Sarah and her boyfriend arguing upstairs. Just as I am drifting off to sleep I hear a loud thump upstairs. It's probably just a door slamming, but I can't help worrying as I drift off to sleep.

I wake up feeling like I hadn't slept at all. I get ready and head out to meet Sarah. She wasn't in the parking lot by my car, so I head upstairs to her apartment. I knock for a couple minutes before her boyfriend comes to the door in a wifebeater and boxers.

"I'm not buying anything."

"Um, yeah. Hi, I'm Veronica, Sarah's friend. I was supposed to take her to the doctor's this morning. Is she home?"

"Nope," he says as he slams the door in my face. Such a charmer, it's no wonder she snagged him up.

I don't know what clinic Sarah's appointment was supposed to be at, so I head over to the clothing store where she works. I find her boss and he tells me she's not due in until 11.

I head into Dad's office to catch up on some filing and to kill some time. I wait until 11:30 to head back to the clothing store.

I get there to find her manager Nathan to look a little upset. I ask him, "Is Sarah here yet?"

"Nope, I'm going to be short the whole rest of the day. This isn't like Sarah at all. I bet her loser artist of a boyfriend has something to do with it."

"What makes you think that?"

"Sarah is a really great girl, but I don't understand why she stays with a jerk like that. They're always arguing, and he treats her like shit."

"Wow, you two must be really close. Are you sure she didn't mention anything about taking a trip? Visiting her folks maybe?"

He turns away and grabs a stack of shirts to refold. "I wouldn't say we were close, but she did crash at my place a couple times when they were really going at it. No big deal."

"Ok, thanks. If she comes in will you tell her to give Veronica a call?"

"Sure thing," he says sounding relieved. I'm sure he knows something else, but I head back to the office to run a quick background check and see if there's been any activity on her credit cards. I find nothing.

"Hey, Dad, I'm worried about our neighbor Sarah. We were supposed to meet up this morning to go to the doctor, but she wasn't home. She's hasn't been to work either, and last night I heard her and her boyfriend arguing followed by a thud."

"I'm sure she's fine, Veronica. She probably took off to visit her parents or a friend until things cooled off."

"Yeah, you're probably right," I tell him without really meaning it. Maybe it is nothing, but I can't shake the feeling something is really wrong.

I head back to the store and corner the manager. "What were you trying to hide from me?"

"Nothing, I told you she just didn't show up for work today."

"Hey, she told me that Andre wasn't really the baby's father. Do you know who is?"

"It's not mine, if that's what you're suggesting."

"No, I'm not, but you work with her every day. I thought you might have picked up something.

"I hate to even think this, but maybe the guy that raped her is the baby's father."

"She was raped?"

"Yeah. It's one of the reasons she left her hometown, followed Andre here."

"She told you that?"

"Yeah. Like you said, we spend a lot of time together."

"Did she say who it was?"

"Never. Ah, I should get back to work. But if I think of anything else, I'll be sure to give you a call." Nervousness is dripping from his voice.

I walk out of the store and something finally clicks. I remember Sarah mentioning she lost her diary a few weeks ago. I give Weevil a call. "Hey, Weevil, you and the boys up for some fun?"

I climb up onto the hood of my car and stare into the store. Nathan comes out and looks like he wants to say something to me.

"Ready to tell me what else you know, Nathan? Perhaps give me Sarah's diary?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Everyone is all about doing things the hard way today." I sigh dramatically. "Remember this moment, you'll regret it."

Weevil and some of his boys pull up on their motorcycles. Showtime. I head back into the store. "Last chance to do this the easy way," I say to Nathan. He turns away and Weevil and the boys come into the store.

"We heard there was sale!" Weevil shouts. "Everything's on clearance." His boys are cheering as they grab stacks of clothes and throw them around.

"What-what do you guys want?" Nathan asks Weevil nervously.

"I don't know. Sometimes the girls get put off by this old motorcycle jacket thing. Do you think something in suede might make me seem more… accessible?" Weevil asks as he throws his gloves at Nathan. I have to smile as I watch how much fun the boys are having throwing and trying on the clothes.

"Guys! Remember no white after Labor Day!" They groan sarcastically. I turn to Nathan. "Find the journal yet?"

I walk out with Weevil, journal in hand. "Thanks, Eli."

"No problem. You ask for the weirdest favors. But I gotta admit that was fun. Thought that punk ass was going to shit his pants."

I climb into my car and pull out the journal. I feel a little guilty to be reading it, invading her privacy, but I'm sure it'll help me to find her. It's weird to flip through her drawings and writings after the rape. To see someone else's version of coping. Later in the book I see several pictures all depicting the same scene overlooking the ocean. It looks familiar, so I head to where I think it is.

I park and head towards a gazebo looking out over the ocean. I sit for a minute before Sarah walks up. "Veronica? Is that you? What are you doing here?"

"Looking for you. Sarah, I've been worried."

"Sorry to worry you. Hey, is that my journal?"

"Oh, yeah. Found it while I was looking for you. Sorry."

"Andre called my parents. Told them I was pregnant. They're probably back at the apartment now. I can't face my mom and my stepfather. I just can't."

Sarah looks scared and it suddenly dawns on me. "It was your stepfather, wasn't it?"

Her face goes pale and she nods once, slowly.

"It'll be ok, I'll call my dad and he'll work it out before we get home. You don't have to see him, but I really think you should talk to your mom."

She shakes her head no. "She won't listen. She never listens to me." I can't help but bitterly think at least her mom is willing to come see her.

I call my dad and he promises to call the sheriff. I have my doubts about Lamb actually doing anything useful, but I guess even he will have to listen to a DNA test that shows a stepfather is the father of his stepdaughter's child.

Lamb and a couple of his deputies are escorting Randall out in handcuffs when we pull up. Sarah is trembling as he glares at her. "He really can't hurt me again." She says softly as Andre comes to gather her into his arms.

Another case solved, another happy ending....for someone else. Why are other people's lives so much less complicated than mine? I don't want to watch Logan be led away in handcuffs. It must be true what they say. That Veronica Mars is nothing but a marshmellow.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N Still don't own anything related to Veronica Mars. This is the first new chapter I've written in quite some time. Reviews/concrit would be great and help me to write more faster! Thanks for reading!**

I walk into school the next day and am surprised to hear a lack of whispering behind my back. I look around and see a surprising level of fear. Apparently my classmates don't give a damn about saying rumors with me until you taser one teeny tiny 09'er. Speaking of I see Dick. I'm tempted to show him the taser to see how high I can make him jump. With a deep sigh I decide to head to class. I'll save that trick for the next time he pisses me off.

Before I can make my exit Dick spots me. "Um, hey, Ronnie, can I talk to you for a second?"

What the hell is going on? Nothing good can come of this moment. "Yeah, you just did." I continue walking to class, refusing to walk quicker and allow Dick to think I'm scared of him.

"Uh, yeah, funny, but really can we talk."

I stop suddenly and he almost runs into me. "You have 20 seconds, go."

"I, um, just wanted to say sorry for yesterday. I was being a real jerk and I promise it won't happen again."

Clearly I've stepped into Bizzaro Neptune. "You're sorry?! Now you're sorry? What the hell, Dick? You've never been sorry before. It's not like it was the first time I've tasered you. And it sure as hell isn't the first time you've been a 'jerk'."

Dick looks nervously behind me. "Look, I said sorry, ok?"

"Whatever." I turn to walk away and see the cause of Dick's nervousness. Logan is leaning on a row of lockers glaring at Dick. Just what I need, a knight in ass holes clothing. I move towards Logan, but he's gone before I make it across the hall.

I move through my morning classes quickly. I hear a lot of barely contained whispering, but not one says anything directly to me. I even make it through gym without being hit in the head with a dodge ball.

After getting out of the shower I notice the towel I'm wearing doesn't leave a lot to the imagination. Huh, might have to start bringing an extra towel from home. My stomach drops when I see that my gym locker is open. "Where are my clothes?" I ask loudly. Whoever took them better hope I never figure out it was them. I find my clothes stuffed into the toilet. Scratch bringing an extra towel, I better bring deodorant because I am never getting naked in this school again. As I stare into the toilet contemplating the timing for my mad dash to my car in the towel Meg comes up behind me.  
"Veronica, did you find your clothes yet?" Meg sees what I'm staring at and sighs. "Ugh, people can be so awful here."

"Well does this towel make me look fat?" Meg looks away. Way to go Veronica, alienate the one girl nice enough to try to help you. "I suppose it's not the towel's fault. When you get fat, everything makes you look fat."

"You're not fat, Veronica. It's natural to gain weight when..." Meg turns back away.

"It's ok, Meg. You can say it. It's natural to gain weight when you get knocked up. If I am going to have a baby I have to be able to handle hearing people call me pregnant. It's not going to go away. Well give it another sixish months and it'll go away, but then I'll have a screaming rugrat permanently attached instead.

Meg laughs a little. "You need something to wear?"

I really wish that Meg had anything other than a cheerleading uniform in her locker. Of course it didn't fit, I didn't even bother to try it on. But Meg was too nice to leave it there. She bullied one of her friends into lending me a sweat suit. A neon pink sweat suit with the word juicy written across the butt. As I walk into the quad and see everyone eating lunch I wish I was still wearing the towel.

Meg smiles genuinely. "Why don't you come have lunch with us? You're already dressed for the occasion."

I glance over to Meg's table. Dick is sitting there sullenly, but the rest of the guys are snickering and joking. Three guesses who's the butt of those jokes. "I think I'm going to go straight home and change. But thank you for this."

I make it home and gratefully slip into something a little less degrading. I consider going back to school, but I decide walking through the halls of my school in the neon pink earned me at least half a mental health day.

I check the mail and am pleased to see my tape of the Abel Koontz story has arrived. I watch it three times before figuring out what was bothering me. The shoes Lamb are holding are in one of Dad's crime scene photos. So either Abel Koontz broke into the Kane mansion, killed Lilly, and broke back in days later to steal a pair of sneakers or he was set up.

I head over to Wallace's after he gets out of school. After the day I've had I'm in need of some quality BFF time. Junk food and televised violence. What more could a girl ask for?

"Twenty seconds, baby," I say to Wallace.

"You're this excited about the super featherweight crown?" Wallace asks with a bemused look on his face.

"I know I'm usually so passive. But our bond grows stronger every day, he-who-has-satellite-dish."

"So, did you take the purity test." I stare at Wallace, confused. Yeah, me neither. Stupid, right?"

"What is a purity test?"

"It's this list of anything bad and fun you could do. You lose points for every thing you've done. Your final score is how pure you are. It's stupid."  
I grin at Wallace. "What'd you score?"

"Seventy."

"Wow, you are 30% danger-lovin', girl-touchin' rock star."

"More like one point away from being cool."

I unzip my sweatshirt and flash Wallace my bra. "Now you're a big stud, happy?"

"Wallace, can I talk to you for a moment?" Wallace's mom asks from the doorway.

My face goes beet red. Great. It's not bad enough that I'm a pregnant teenager who the entire town despises, but now I'm the slutty girl my best friend's mother caught flashing her son. I turn on my laptop to check out this purity test. Wallace comes back in. "Listen to this. Not that innocent? Buy the results of anyone's purity test. Ten dollars will let you know if you're dating an angel from heaven or a hottie from hell."

"That's crazy. You can go on there and buy anyone's test?"

"I never thought I'd say this but I kinda can't wait for school tomorrow."

"You going to buy anyone's test?"

"Me? Who's sex life do you think I'm interested in enough to pay ten whole dollars?"

"Yeah, you're right. You hate to know things."

Wallace's question gets me thinking though. I wonder what answers I might find about Duncan in his purity test. I know there won't be a question as useful as "Have you ever received first hand knowledge of your ex being raped and spread the story around?" but it could prove to be interesting reading.

Ten dollars later and I have more new questions than answers. Most of the answers are just what I expected, but a couple of Duncan's answers make my blood turn cold. _Have you ever sexually attracted to a blood relative? Yes. Have you ever been so drunk or high that you had sex and couldn't remember it the next morning? Yes. Have you ever used drugs to enhance your own sexual experience? Yes._ Who could he have been attracted to? Lilly? I shudder. Maybe he assumed no one would ever see the results and he wanted the extra points? But why choose that? I can't believe I knew so little about Duncan.

When I get home I show dad the crime scene photo and the tape. "Do you think this will be enough, Dad?"

"Oh, Veronica. Koontz has been sentenced to die by lethal injection, and he has refused to appeal. This is amazing proof, but it would take a lot more. It's too late."

"Maybe I can talk to Abel Koontz? Show him what I found? Maybe if he knew there was hope?"

"Veronica, I believe he was paid to take the fall for someone. I doubt this will make a difference. I'll try to talk to him for you, if you want. There is no way my pregnant seventeen year old daughter will visit a convicted murderer in prison."

"But, Dad-"

"No buts, Veronica."

I debate pointing out the fancy bars and paid guards to keep visitors like me safe, but I decide not to push it. It's not like Abel Koontz would see me anyway. Every major network has offered Koontz anything and everything for an interview. He's refused to see anyone. He even fired his lawyer.  
Neptune High is complete chaos the next morning. I can't stop myself from grinning at the sight of everyone attacking their closest friends. I hope they all appreciate their lesson in who their friends truly are as much as I did last year. I stop at Meg's locker where she is furiously wiping off the number 43 which has been graffitied on her locker door. Cole is yelling at her. With very little effort I convince Meg to let me help her track down who could have done this.

My first stop is the computer lab. I ask the teacher for help, but he ironically knows nothing about computers. He sends me to find a student named Mac. I find her in the parking lot hitting a car and cursing.

"Have you ever seen that movie Repo man?" I ask as I approach her car.

"Uh no," she replies clearly a little confused.

I pull out a plastic file which I slip in her window and use to jimmy open the door. "Just call me Otto."

"Wow. That's really criminal of you, Otto. I'm impressed."

"Thanks"

"I don't know why I bother locking it in the first place. It barely runs. Mostly I just keep it around for status."

"Fashizzle." I point to my car. "Check out the LeBaron."

"Stylin."

"I'm Veronica by the way. You're Mac, right?" By the look on her face I can tell she already knew who I was.

"Yup."

"So I was hoping you could help me with something. I think someone got a hold of my friend's neptune high email password. How could that happen?"  
"Well including myself there are maybe two students who could find out someone's password. Other than that only the IT guy knows the passwords. Are you sure she just didn't tell the wrong person? Or make it too easy to guess?"

I felt stupid as I realized I hadn't even though to ask Meg what her password was. It could very easily be something simple to guess. Just in case I ask Mac one more question. "Can you tell what computer someone accessed a website from at a specific time?"

"What do you mean?"

"Someone posted a fake purity test for Meg Manning using her email account. I wonder if you could find out who posted it."

"I don't know. I might be able to find out what computer it was from. I'll look into it."

I walk back into school and am unsurprised to find my locker graffitied with the number 13. As if the bulge under my tee shirt didn't already mark me as the biggest slut in school. Before I can get to my locker someone begins rubbing at the mark. I step closer and realize it's Logan.

I march over next to him. "Excuse me," I say coldly. He steps away from my locker and then moves no further.

I open my locker to get my books. Out pours dozens of papers. I look down and see they are a mix of brochures about abortion and copies of my faked purity test. Logan quickly leans down and begins to pick them up. After a minute he seems to really read what's on the page. He crumples a handful of them together. He stands up quickly and looks around. As though he will be able to tell by pure will power alone who put those papers there. I don't even bother to shut my locker before walking straight into the girls bathroom.

It's not like I wasn't expecting this. I knew it would get really bad again once I stopped hiding being pregnant. With a deep breath I walk back into the hall and straight to my class. Maybe they are treating me as badly as before, but I won't let it affect me again. It's like I told Meg, not only do you have to be strong, you need to retaliate. Somehow I doubt this new Veronica Mars will be very popular. I spend my last two classes plotting my revenge. You can't say I don't have focus.

The next morning I arrive two hours early to put my plans into action. I almost can't wait for someone to try to mess with me. I go to pick Wallace up, so I can come back to school without anyone knowing I was there so early.

Wallace's mom glares at me as her son climbs into my car. Ok, so when I said it didn't bother me when people judged me I didn't mean everyone.  
As we walk into school I can't shake the feeling someone is watching us. "Do you get the feeling someone's following us?"

Wallace looks around. I clearly have to teach the boy some things about being sneaky. "Nope, but there are certainly a lot of eyes on you. Could that be it?"

I shrug and head towards my first class. I duck into an empty classroom and peek out the door at who walks by. After a couple of minutes I see a hispanic boy in a leather jacket walk by. After a moment he storms back by and is clearly furious. Why would he be following me?

I head towards my first period class and can't help but grin when I see an angry Madison storm by with red ink all over her face. I wag my finger at her mockingly as she passes. I have a funny feeling Madison won't be attempting to slip any more notes in my locker.

After class I see Weevil waiting outside my classroom. I look around my dramatically. "Don't tell me that you're sitting there waiting for me? A girl will get spoiled with this kind of attention."

Weevil doesn't respond but follows in step with me towards my next class. "Hey, random question. You didn't happen to ask one of your boys to follow me around this morning did you?"

"Someone has to look out for you."

I stop and smack him in the arm. "Are you crazy? Did you not think about how I would feel when I noticed I was being followed? The only protection I needed today was from my stalker!"

"You weren't supposed to see him."

"That's your answer? Did you not think that I might notice something was wrong? It's not bad enough I see shadowy figures from the corner of my eye almost all the time, you have to make some of them real? Thanks."

I turn to walk into my next classroom, and Weevil grabs my arm. "Look, I'm sorry, V. I heard about yesterday, and I just wanted to make sure no one would be able to hurt you again."

I feel tears running down my cheeks and I'm angry at myself for breaking down. Ah, well, when in doubt blame it on the hormones. "I appreciate that you want to help me, but you can't have me always followed. What happened yesterday was no big deal. I had some trash thrown at me. I was never in any danger from Dick Casablancas, and you have to understand that not only can I take care of myself most of the time I need to. I need to know that I can protect myself."

Weevil nods and lets go of my arm, letting me head into class. I quickly dry my eyes and sit impatiently through class. I can't wait for gym class, I have one more surprise left.

When I walk out of the shower in my towel I am pleased to see my clothes are missing again. I smile, which earns me some confused looks from my classmates. I walk over to Meg's locker and pull out the outfit we left there before class. I look around at my classmates and see who can't stop scratching. It's funny how far a little packet of itching powder can go. I see a couple of Madison's cronies scratching away, but the one that surprises me is Pam. Meg certainly has good taste in friends.

As I walk by the two of them I whisper in Pam's ear, "I'm just getting started, I don't think you realized just who you were messing with."

I storm out before Pam can answer. I sit with Wallace outside. After a minute Mac comes and sits with us like it's where she's always been. "So I think I know who posted Meg's test."

"Suspense effectively built, spill."

"Kimmy. Um, isn't she one of Meg's friends?"

"Kimmy? How would she be able to hack into the database?"

"No one broke in. Someone told her the password. I can only tell it was her because the test was taken from her home computer."

"Thanks, Mac. I owe you one."

After lunch I wait by my locker for Kimmy to walk by. When I see her I beckon her towards me. She looks around nervously but steps forward. "Hello, Kimmy. Want to tell me why you set Meg up?"

"Wh-what are you talking about?"

"Kimmy, why do you think that lying to me now would be a good idea. I have proof you are the one who posted Meg's purity test. I'm only going to ask this question one more time. Why did you fake Meg's purity test?"

"She gets everything I want. Everything. The lead in the musical, cheerleader, the anchor job," Kimmy whispered.

"She's your friend. How could you do this? And why did you fake my purity test too?"

"I didn't do yours, I swear."

"I don't believe you."

"Seriously, it was Pam. She hates you because she's always wanted Duncan, but when you came he didn't seem to notice her anymore."

"Why would she still hate me? Duncan hates me."

"He still won't give Pam the time of day. She blames you. She thinks he's still really hung up on you."

"How did you get my password? I could almost buy that Meg left hers laying around and you got a hold of it or guessed it, but I know there's no way you could have figured mine out."

"Umm." Kimmy looked around her as though a lie would materialize in front of her.

"Do you really think you want to piss me off? Who gave you my password?"

"It was my boyfriend. Please, he'd get into so much trouble, he would lose his job."

"Lose his job- wait. Are you telling me you're dating the IT guy?" Kimmy turns red and looks away. Well, thanks for being so cooperative, Kimmy." I open my locker and take out the video camera that had been taping everything Kimmy had said.

"Wait! What are you going to do? Veronica?" Kimmy calls after me as I walk away.

It's cake to slip the tape in with the school's daily news broadcast pile. I debate warning Meg, but I decide not to so she can't talk me out of it. I have the funny feeling Meg is not ready for revenge.

After school Duncan stops me in the parking lot. "What the fuck do you think you're doing? Did you make her say those things? They're not true." Duncan's face is red. I take a step back and he grabs my arm. "Answer me!"

"I never thought you were still hung up on me, Duncan. Maybe you could have known this if you paid attention to what I said. I said it was silly and that you hated me. God, Duncan, chill. It's not like anyone else believes it." I pull my arm out of his grasp and take several steps back. My hand instinctively goes into my bag and holds onto my taser.

"You're such a lying slut. You're the one still hung up on me. Everyone knows it. You're the one who can't get over me. Begging me at Shelley's party to give you another chance." His voice gets high pitched as he says mockingly, "Just one night, Duncan. Let me show you how much I love you."

"Shut up, Duncan," Logan says and he walks up behind me. He subtly moves between me and Duncan. "She didn't do anything to you, man. Just walk away."

"So you're her white knight now, huh, Logan? Tell me what is she doing for you? If you don't know already let me warn you that she's an awful lay."  
"Don't talk to the mother of my child like that, Duncan!"

My blood freezes. Duncan knows how I am in bed? And Logan just told him he's my baby's father? Somehow I think the shit is about to hit the fan.  
Duncan doesn't say anything for a minute. Suddenly he punches Logan in the face as he screams, "You had sex with my girlfriend, you fucker!"  
Before I can think of what I'm doing I taser Duncan until he stops hitting Logan. I struggle to roll Duncan off of Logan.

"Are you ok," I ask Logan as he stands up. He nods slowly. "What were you thinking? Telling Duncan we had sex! Are you crazy?"

"I should have said it a long time ago. I should have proudly displayed how I felt. I can deal with Duncan. Are you ok?" I nod and turn to head towards my car. Logan grabs my arm and pulls me towards him. He leans down and before I can react plants his lips on mine. For a minute I can't move. I pull away and just look at Logan before turning and walking rapidly towards my car.

Before I drive away I call Weevil. "Hey, so I'm sorry about earlier. I'd be really grateful if you could walk me to classes tomorrow."

"What happened, V.?"

"N-Nothing. I just thought about what you said and realized you were right." I hang up before he can tell me he doesn't believe me.


	9. Chapter 9

Sorry it's been forever since I've updated. Had a couple of people review (thanks) and prompt me to continue. I'm working on the next chapter which should be awesome because episode 10 is amazing. As always I don't any thing from Rob's world, I just play in it. Please review and remind me to continue to update!

* * *

When I get home I take Backup for a walk on the beach. I need to relax and process. I never had sex with Duncan. There are only two explanations. One (and may I say I hope and pray with everything in me it's option one) is that Duncan lied to be cruel and spread rumors about me. Unfortunately this does not explain why he would tell Troy details like me being drugged that turned out to be true. Two Logan wasn't the only person I had sex with at Shelley's party. Tears roll down my face. Could Duncan have really hated me that much? He didn't used to be like this, I used to think I loved him.

I hear someone cough behind me. I turn and see Logan. "How'd you know I'd be here?"

Logan shrugs and sits next to me. "Lucky guess? I knew you'd need to get some thinking done after that incident with Duncan. This is where you go to think."

"Maybe. I think I need a place to find answers. Any suggestions?"

"Depends on the questions I guess."

"You don't need to do this, Logan."

"What do you mean?"

"I know you heard what Duncan said." My hand rubs over my belly as I turn to look at Logan. "Why should you do this when I don't even know-" I bite back a sob as I try to continue. "If Duncan was telling the truth he...we had sex that night too, Logan. I'm right back to not knowing who my baby's father is." I turn away as tears slide slowly down my face.

After a minute I feel Logan's arm wrap around my shoulders. "We'll figure it out, Veronica. We can get a DNA test done if you want, but either way I'm going to think of this as our child-"

I pull away. "Why, Logan? It's not like you're my boyfriend. It's not even like we're friends."

"I think it takes more than DNA to make a father, Veronica. I'm not saying I want to raise Duncan's baby, and I would understand if he was the father and you wanted to be with him. I'm saying I don't need a DNA test. I'm really just trying to offer whatever it is you want. And maybe you're right. Maybe we're not even friends, but we were once. Weren't we?"

"Were we, Logan? I don't think we were. I think we had mutual friends, but us? We've always just been acquaintances." I whistle for Backup and put his leash back on. I walk down the beach and am both relieved and disappointed that Logan call out to challenge my lie.

When I get home Logan is parked outside. He hands me a bundle. "The green shirt is the one I was wearing earlier. It's Duncan's blood on it. The blue one is my blood. Do what you need to do Veronica."

"Thanks," I say softly as he gets back into his car. I need to know, but I'm terrified. I still can't forgive Logan for what he did, but the thought of Duncan being the father of my baby makes my blood run cold.

I take the bundle to one of Dad's old colleagues, Ms. Everett the chief medical examiner. It takes very little persuading on my part for her to agree to get DNA information from the tee shirts on Duncan and Logan. She should have results for me in about a week.

As I step back outside I call Wallace. "Hey, what are you up to?"

"I can hear you tilting your head through the phone. What do you need, girl?"

"Do I have to need something to call my BFF? I'm hurt Wallace."

"Oh, so you called to talk about the weather? The sun is nice, I think it's brighter than yesterday."

I sigh. "Fine, you're right. I have to head to the clinic for a check-up and I thought maybe you could come for some moral support and hand holding." The line is silent. "But it's cool if you're busy, I'll just-"

"No, it's cool. Can you come pick me up? My moms is out with Daryl, and she has the car."

"Yeah, no problem. Hey, Wallace?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks."

I swing by Dad's office on my way to pick up Wallace. Dad's meeting with a slightly familiar looking couple. After they leave he comes out and asks me, "Do you know Casey Gant?"

"Unfortunately, yeah. He's just another slice off the loaf of shallow vapid pain-in-the-ass 09erdom."

"Hmm, well, despite your assessment his parents are still a little irked about his decision to run off and join a cult."

"He joined a cult? What do they worship? Wedgies, keggers, their parents' platinum cards?" I try to picture Casey in a cult, but I just can't see past all the keggers and conceited put downs for anyone in a lower socioeconomic bracket."

"Well he's 18 so there is little the law can do. The Gants are prepared to award us a 5000 dollar bonus if we find information they can use to get their son back."

"Say no more, Dad. For five grand I'd do a lot more than lower myself to helping a waste of space like Casey. Any specific information I should try to get?"

"Just anything that would allow us to involve law enforcement. Kidnapping, fire arms, drugs, I'm sure you will recognize what we need when you see it. He's still coming to school so get whatever information you can there. Veronica, do not, under pain of slow, agonizing death even think about going to the compound yourself. I'll run the title search, do the background check, take the recon shots, all of that, nous comprendon nous? His eyes narrow on me. "I mean this, Veronica. You can't understand just how dangerous a cult can be, and you have more than yourself to worry about now.

I roll my eyes. "You got it, Pops, no danger for this preggers girl. I'll get started tomorrow." I gather up my coat and bag. "I'm going to go have some girl time with Wallace."

Dad raises an eyebrow. "Girl time? Don't be too hard on the boy."

"Who me?" I ask innocently as I pack up my stuff into my messenger bag.

As I pull in front of Wallace's house I wonder if he'll judge me for asking the doctor how long I need to wait before I can do a paternity test. Wallace seems to be proving himself to overlook things like that, but I'd rather he got to know me a little better before I had to imply I was a slut. I can't not ask though, no matter what it may lead to I have to know.

Wallace hops into the car, interrupting my train of thought. I clear my throat. "Thanks again for coming with me, Wallace."

"No problem, Veronica. I think hand holding trips to the doctor were in my BFF handbook."

"You got a handbook? Damn, I knew I was doing something wrong," I say lightly.

When we get to the clinic and out of the car, I grab Wallace's hand. His eyebrow goes up. "So you needed literally hand holding, huh, V?" I shrug. "Not that I mind," he says and he squeezes my hand, "Just weird to see my bad ass best friend afraid."

I want to laugh at how ridiculous the idea of me not being afraid, but I don't. If this keeps being so serious I'm going to break down. "You can't mean I'm tarnishing my bad ass reputation? Say it isn't so. If you tell anyone I might have to trade you in for a newer model."

"Trade me in? You wish, girl, I'm irreplaceable."

I smile at just how true that statement is proving to be. When we make it in to see my doctor he smiles widely. "Hello, I'm Dr. Mason. It's so nice to meet the father of Veronica's child. I always prefer to see both parents whenever possible."

"Er, Dr. Mason, this isn't the father. He's just the best friend here to support me," I say as I feel my face growing red.

"I'm so sorry, Veronica. I just assumed-"

"Of course, no problem. I do have a baby daddy related question to ask you though, Dr. Mason." Here goes nothing. I force myself not to look at Wallace. "How long do I need to wait to be able to do a paternity test?"

Dr. Mason looks startled. "Most prenatal paternity tests are expensive and dangerous to the baby. I really can't recommend doing any of those procedures. There are private companies that look only at the mother's blood for prenatal cells that are safer, although they are not always completely accurate and they are expensive."

I sigh. "Can you give me some of the private agencies that can test my blood? I know it's not accurate and it's expensive, but sometimes you just need to know." Wallace squeezes my hand.

After a lot of pushing I leave Dr. Mason's office with some blurry peanut like pictures of the baby and a print out with three agencies that will analyze a mother's blood for prenatal cells.

"So that was fun," I say with false brightness. "Up for a sequel to the fun and games? Another movie night perhaps?"

"As long as movie night isn't girl code for another awkward girly moment I'm in," Wallace says with a smile that shows me he's joking.

"It depends. Do you consider a marathon of 80's teen classics like Pretty in Pink and the Breakfast Club to be an awkward girly moment?" Wallace groans. "I can at least promise that the snacks will be movie marathon worthy if we have it at Chez Mars."

Wallace grins. "Can I at least order the pizza?"

I widen my eyes. "Order the pizza? Are you kidding? But you're still a novice. No, you have much training to complete before you're ready for pizza ordering, young grasshopper. Maybe, if you pay close attention to your lessons I'll let you put the toppings on the ice cream. Maybe."

Wallace rolls his eyes, but he doesn't push the pizza ordering.

We get home and I see a note from Dad that he'll be home late due to some recon work at the collective. I order the pizza and throw in some chicken wings and mozzarella sticks. I pop a couple of bags of popcorn, grab some pretzels, put some cookies on a place, open a few bags of candy, and make us ice cream sundaes. Wallace puts on the toppings that I put out for him of course. "We just might be able to make you an honorary Mars yet, Wallace."

I know Wallace must have felt awkward in the appointment because he sat through Pretty in Pink and Sixteen Candles before he started to fidget. I stand up to take him home. "Girl, how can you even move? I feel like I could hibernate for months on the snacks you fed me"

"I said you'd make an honorary Mars some day. We still need to train up your stomach."

After I get back from taking Wallace home I look up the agencies that can test my blood. I realize I'm almost past the window of being eligible. I order a kit online to be delivered tomorrow. I sigh as I transfer over the balance of my college savings account. It's not like the dorm at Stanford will have day care anyway, right?

When I pull into the parking lot at school in the morning I'm not surprised to see Weevil walk up to my car.

"So, are you going to explain what changed your mind about having an escort?"

I think about not brushing his question off, but something won't let me. I shrug. "Logan told Duncan I was pregnant with Logan's kid right after Duncan implied we'd had sex. And since sex with Duncan was news to me and I've only been raped while unconscious once it makes a girl wonder, you know, Vato? Duncan seemed pissed, and I'm tired of the screaming fits in the hall." I shrug again. "And I figure if I taser Duncan his parents will have me thrown in jail."

Weevil snorts. "Yeah, the Kanes really don't seem to be fans of yours. So what is it that you want me to do? Because the Kanes aren't really my biggest fans either. Lamb is also not in my fan club, so I think if I touch Duncan I will definitely be arrested."

"I really don't think Duncan will try anything if you're with me, but honestly if he does I'll risk jail time and taser him. I really just wanted moral support."

Weevil laughs. "I don't think I've ever been asked to be moral support before." Weevil stopped and grabbed my arm. "Seriously though, V., you know I won't let anyone hurt you."

My eyes well up as I fight back tears. I manage to make it to class without a single glimpse of Duncan's tell-tale argyle. I feel a little silly, and I start to tell Weevil that I won't need him next class. I stop when I see the seriousness in his eyes. I tell myself I don't want to alienate one of my very few supports, but really it was nice to feel protected for a change.

At lunch I find myself staring at Casey as he plays hacky sack with a group of kids who look like throwbacks from the sixties.

Wallace breaks my concentration and says, "Hacky Sack? The final arena of unquestioned white domination. New crush?"

I snort. "Hardly. That's Casey Gant. He sold his Porsche, joined a cult and took up Hacky Sack."

Wallace looks surprised. "He looks normal enough."

I shake my head. "Not if you knew him before. Casey definitely had his share of ass hole 09er moments. There were days he made Dick look like an angel.

"Really? I find that hard to believe."

I think about telling Wallace about the stream of bullying moments I can remember from Casey, but I can't. Watching him play hacky sack makes me wonder if maybe he's really changed. I have to admit I'm not seeing the angle to joining a cult.

I follow Casey to a literary club meeting towards the end of lunch. I'm shocked to hear him read original poetry. After the meeting I walk up to him. With a flip of my hair I turn on the charm. "I really liked your poem, Casey."

Casey smiles widely. "I appreciate the effort, but I know I have a long way to go towards being a literary great. I just enjoy expressing myself.

For a second I wonder if this is a sign of the impending apocalypse. Casey Gant is being modest? Tell me again why cults are a bad thing? "So modest? I didn't think that quality existed once you crossed into the 90909 territory.

Casey laughs. "Haven't you heard? I've moved. Must have caught the modesty in the air of the new zip code."

Huh, it's funny, but I never would have guessed that Casey would give me such an easy opening. "Moved? To where? Why?"

Casey shrugs and turns away. "I took a step back and a long look at my life and didn't like what I saw. I've been staying with the Moon Calf Collective. I know, I know it sounds like a group of hippies, but they help me to be the person I want to be."

Damn this pesky conscience of mine, but I actually am starting to feel sorry for the guy. 5000 dollars will buy a lot of diapers and formula though. "Moon Calf Collective? I haven't heard of it. What's it like?"

"It's amazing. We grow most of our own food, take care of animals, and work together to take care of each other." He beams down at me as he takes out a slip of paper from his bag. He scribbles on it. "You should totally come and check it out sometime. Here's my number. Call me and I'll give you a personal tour."

I smile back as I fight the urge to check for Ashton Kutcher and his camera team to say they're punking me. Is Casey Gant flirting with me? Despite the baby bulge and Lilly Kane scandal? "Thanks," I say, wishing I could take him up on his offer for a second. Visions of my father's wrath flash through my mind. No, there will be no cult visits for you, Veronica.

Casey and I say good-bye and I turn around to head to my next class. I see Logan frozen in the doorway staring at me. He turns abruptly away and heads into the room.

Journalism class. It used to be slowly edging its way towards being my favorite. Now, stuck between Duncan and Logan in my own forty-five minute glimpse into hell. I wonder if my guidance counselor would still allow me to join pep squad. Does pep squad have a maternity routine? Probably not, but I bet I could sell it.

Duncan glares at me before stomping out of the class. I am tempted to blow him a kiss, but I decide not to push my luck. I catch Logan looking at me three times before I finally sigh and head over to him.

"Need something?" I ask coldly.

"Just trying to figure out you and Casey Gant. I would have figured you wouldn't want anything to do with him. I thought you said he was an ass hole."

"If being an ass hole stopped me from talking to someone I wouldn't be here now, would I?"

A flash of pain dances across his face. He takes a deep breath and says, "And here I thought I was more of a jack ass. Is this a promotion or a demotion?"

I pretend to consider his question. "I think it's really six of one half dozen of another. Hey, random question." Logan nods. "Speaking of Casey Gant, any idea why he joined a cult?"

Logan's eyes go wide. "A cult? Are you serious? I just noticed he stopped driving his fancy car and sitting with us. Figured the recession was hitting the literary world hard and he had to scale back." Logan's eyes narrow. "Are you asking because of a case? Veronica, cults are dangerous." His eyes trail down and land on my belly. "You're not the only one at risk. I can't believe-"

I can't help laughing. His face goes red. "This isn't funny Veronica, I'm worried about you."

"You'd find it funnier if you were at my house this morning when my Dad gave me the same speech. So unless you have us bugged it means that you and my Dad had the same thought. You haven't bugged the house, have you?"

Logan relaxes significantly. "Your dad knows about the case?"

"Would you stop alerting the world I'm on a case?" I ask in a frustrated tone. "Yes, my Dad knows about the case. It's his case, you moronic jackass. I'm just helping with some back ground information."

Logan smiles. "Need any help?"

I snort and shake my head no. I head over the computer to google the Moon Calf Collective. I don't really find any information that Casey hadn't already told me. I do get an address, and I'm itching to jot it down, but I know that my Dad and Logan are right.

I get home to find my kit from the online agency that will test my prenatal cells. I call Dr. Everett and ask her to forward her results to the company for comparison. I drop the kit off at the post office. I sink back into my car seat with a sigh. The easy part is over. Now I have to wait for strangers to figure out the most life changing question I've ever asked. Now I have to wait for three to four weeks. I think the suspense may kill me. I sent off for those test results because I wanted the truth. But can a lab tech really see the shape of my baby's soul in a drunken conga line of genes? Does the answer to this question really mean anything at all?

I get home and find Dad. "Find anything suspicious at the Collective?"

Dad shrugs. "Looks like a bunch of hippie throw backs. They seem harmless. I left a bug and I've been listening, but no sign of anything illegal yet."

I nod. "Yeah, that's the impression that Casey gave me. He offered me a private tour if you've changed your mind about my safety? I'm sure no one would notice if you tagged along," I say jokingly.

His eyes narrow. "Veronica, I thought I was clear on the danger-"

"I know, I know. I was just yanking your chain, Pops."

I go into the kitchen to pour myself a glass of milk. Dad comes up and grabs the carton away from me. "Umm, did I miss the memo on the dangers of milk now?"

"I think I just found the way to get us that 5000 dollar bonus, Veronica."

"By depriving your grandchild milk?"

"The girl on the carton. The missing kid, I saw her at the Collective. Last time I checked, harboring a minor is still a crime."

I give Dad a high five as I grin. "That's my Pops."

Dad makes a few calls and reports that the girl had been picked up and was in child protective services. Casey's family had Casey back. Another success for Mars Investigations.

Dad and I watch the game and gorge on Chinese food. Egg Rolls really do solve all of the world's problems. Or at least make working on the world's problems taste better.

In the morning, I find a letter taped to my windshield. I roll my eyes and wonder why Logan can't just let this go. I open the note and bite back a sob. I never thought I would miss notes from Logan.

**Your baby is an abomination, Whore. Do the world a favor and rectify your sin.**

Attached is a flyer for an abortion clinic. I ball the whole thing up and toss it on the ground. After a few seconds I bend down to pick it up. I don't want Dad to find it and worry about me. Besides the note is hand written which is precisely the kind of evidence that will help me to nail this son of the bitch to the wall when I find them.

I am relieved to see one of the members of Weevil's gang waiting for me in the parking lot. Who would have ever guessed I'd be glad to have a member of a motorcycle gang stalking me? I nod at him and head towards class.

I see Casey pull up in a shiny new Mercedes Benz. I start to wave, but he walks right past me. I guess that 90909 air made Casey realize he'd been flirting too many rungs down the food chain.

I walk towards the building. Logan walks up and joins me. Weevil's boy gives me a look and starts to approach us. I shake my head lightly in negation. "What's up, Logan? I really must have to get a hold of the stalker journal you subscribe to."

Logan looks nervous. "So I got a call from Duncan last night."

My eyebrows raise. "And you want to give me the play by play on your make up love fest? Tell me, the suspense is killing me, are you and Duncan BFF's again."

"He wanted to say he was sorry."

"Huh, I must have missed my apology phone call. I guess I'll sit by the phone waiting tonight."

"He said he didn't rape you. He asked if we could all be friends again."

I feel my jaw drop. "And this means, what? Bygones? I guess it's only right that you guys are BFF's again. You can start a club for guys that have sex with unconscious girls."

I wave the gang member over and grab his arm and allow him to escort me into the school. I'm proud I only tremble a little.


	10. Chapter 10

Author's note: I needed a little more time before we were at December as that would put Veronica at about 6 months and she still didn't have any test results or anything. Anyway to play with the time line a little this will not be an Echoll's Family Christmas. It was a hard decision for me to make cause I was really looking forward to that one, but it will come. I'd also like to send out a huge thank you to those of you who have continued to read and comment on the story. Getting those email alerts are what inspired me to continue. Already working on the next chapter. I'm excited to play with Echoll's Family Christmas. As always I own nothing, just grateful for the chance to play in Rob's world. Please review! Feedback inspires (or guilts) me into writing more!

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Four months pregnant and the cravings are hitting me hard. I wake up with an urge for French toast, bacon, and ice cream. I sit down with my plate and dig in happily.

"Good Morning," I say to Dad who is reading the newspaper intently. I wait a moment for him to respond, but I get nothing. "Or not," I say sarcastically

"You don't go to the ocean side bars that the college kids hang out at, do you?" Dad asked suddenly.

"I prefer the biker bar by the train station. I get more attention there. You wouldn't believe the hard time some bars give a pregnant girl wanting a drink. It's made me a little pickier than normal," I say snarkily. Dad glares at me. "I'm kidding. Why would you ask me that?"

Dad holds up his newspaper and I see the headline _E-String Strangler Strikes Again_. "Twenty year old co-ed washed up dead on the beach. That could have been you, Veronica." I take the paper, so I can read the article.

"Scary. Wait. Wasn't this your case? I thought they caught this guy in Oakland two years ago."

"Well, apparently they didn't. Everyone wanted to believe the Oakland strangler committed the Neptune crimes too. It never quite fit. Oh, but it was so important for the mayor and the Chamber of Commerce to put that scare behind us. You be careful, Veronica."

"Don't worry, Pops, I'm officially creeped out."

Wallace calls and asks for a ride to school. I head towards his house, but I catch glimpses of Logan's yellow SUV following me. With a sigh I pull over in front of Wallace's house. I pull out my phone and call Logan who had pulled into one of Wallace's neighbors driveways.

"Logan, I'm so afraid. I need your help," I say breathlessly.

"What's wrong?" Logan asks sounding terrified.

"I think I'm being followed," I whisper sarcastically.

Silence hit me for a full minute. "So you saw me, huh? Veronica, I just-"

I took a deep breath. "Logan, it's not that I don't appreciate your intention of protecting me, but you can't follow me around. My sanity can't take always being followed. Please, I will be fine."

"Veronica, there is a killer on the loose and you expect me to be fine with you taking off on your own."

"Logan, I'm picking up Wallace. I won't be alone, I just won't be with you. Stop following me." I hung up the phone. I was suddenly exhausted. Tired of Logan's optimism, his protectiveness, tired of everyone's protectiveness. I glanced down at my belly. I guess it's not really me that everyone is so worried about.

Wallace came out and climbed into the car. Logan's car drives away and Wallace's eyebrow goes up, but he wisely doesn't say anything.

When I sat down at my table I was surprised to see that Logan was sitting by himself while Duncan seemed to be holding court with the 09ers. Luckily, before I could think too hard about feeling bad, Dick and his brother sat down to join Logan. The thought still makes me wonder, maybe Logan was genuine when he said he thought I had known what happened and wanted to keep it a secret.

Wallace plopped down next to me and started to talk about basketball. For the first time I also realized that I hadn't had one insult thrown my way all day. Another look at Logan and I had to feel a little impressed. It made me a little sad about all the crap everyone had put me through for the past year.

"Are you listening to a word I'm saying, V?"

I turned back guiltily to my best friend. In doing so my gaze also passed over a couple of Weevil's gang members keeping a not so subtle eye on me. Maybe I shouldn't give Logan all of the credit. "Sorry, Wallace. Just feeling nervous. I should be getting the call any day now with the DNA results. Hard to focus on anything else, even your mad baller skills."

"No worries, V. I know you have a lot on your plate. Make sure you give me a call when the results are in if you want a hand to hold while you get them," he said awkwardly.

"Thanks for the offer, I appreciate all the lengths you are going to in being my BFF." I lightly punched Wallace's arm. "Enough with the girly stuff, are you going to eat that brownie or not?"

"Did you seriously just ask if I am going to eat the brownie that is on my plate? Girl, I know you're pregnant and all, but do not even think about touching my brownie." He continued to mumble something about white girls being crazy and with a smile I finished up lunch and dumped my tray.

To my surprise a kid I didn't know came up and asked me to look up some dirt on his parents. He readily agreed to my fee and it's time to start saving. Forget college fund, with a baby on the way I'll need all the money I can get.

I noticed both a PCHer and a slightly subtler Logan followed me to every class. Somehow it didn't bother me as much as it should have. It feels good to have moved from avoiding torment from my classmates to being protected. A little more treatment like this and I'll get spoiled.

I get a call from Dad after school asking me to meet him at the Sheriff's office. I knew things were going too well. On the way I do some mental calculations about how much money is in my college fund and whether or not I'll be able to bail him out.

As much as I would rather go solo to face the humiliation of that idiot Lamb having arrested Dad I grab Wallace since I was his ride home. We got there and walked in and I am shocked to hear Dad joking with his old friends like Inga. Looks like bail is all set, he must have only needed a ride.

"Dad?" I called out tentatively.

"Veronica! Check it out." He turned around and showed me he was wearing an officer uniform.

Wallace turned and asked me quietly, "You think he got arrested naked and they had to loan him the uniform?"

As I tried to stifle my laughter I turned back to Dad. "What's going on?" I asked. "Do you have your job back?" I added hopefully.

"Temporarily I do. The mayor asked me to help out with the investigation of the E string strangler since I worked the case the last time and had put in my complaint that I didn't think the case was truly solved."

I gave Dad a big hug. "That's great!"

"Oh, Veronica," Inga says sadly. I realize she is staring at my belly and remembering the morning after the party when I came into the Sherriff's department to report my rape and was sent on my way to find the Wizard to give me some backbone and Lamb had determined I had been drunk seeking sex and regretting it the morning after. I realized since I hadn't told Dad about this I needed to distract Inga quickly. Wouldn't do my baby any good to have to visit it's grandpa in jail.

"Inga, how are you? How are the dogs? You know Back-up misses coming over to play with them."

Inga beamed like a proud mother. "They are doing marvelous, Veronica. And you know that you and Back-up are always welcome at my home."

Dad told me he would be working late so Wallace and I ran over the deli to grab him some dinner. When I got back to the Sherriff station the deputy at the front desk tells me that my father and Lamb are in a meeting. I told Deputy Leo I had brought some dinner for my father.

"Ah well, you can put it on his desk if you want, unless it's gonna go bad or something, then we have a mini-fridge, I could put it in there," he said.

"I might just take you up on that 'cause there's coleslaw," I replied with a smile.

"No problem he answers," before he leaves to put the sandwich in the fridge.

I took the opportunity to quickly look around. I spotted a key ring full of keys and wish the building wasn't crawling with sheriff department employees. I would love to get into the evidence room to retrieve some of the evidence that the sheriff has on Lily's murder.

Leo returns. "Word of caution. You probably shouldn't trust me."

"Oh yeah?" I ask confused. Wouldn't it be nice if everyone was honestly willing to tell you whether or not you could trust them upon meeting them.

"Every night at nine, the whole crew goes out to dinner leaving the rookie here to answer the phones. I usually wind up getting dinner out of the candy machine. A pastrami sandwich could prove to be very tempting."

"You looked in my bag," I said jokingly. Not for the first time, I wished I wasn't pregnant. Flirting was so much easier without the emerging baby bump.

"I told you, I'm a scoundrel," he says with a smile and I realize not all of my charm was pure sex appeal. Good to know.

"A rogue deputy is among us. No sandwich is safe." Hit with inspiration I continued, "How about I promise to come back later with something a little fancier than vending machine candy if you promise to leave my dad's lunch alone."

Leo grins. "I think that's a deal."

What more can a girl ask for? Leo practically asked me to raid the evidence room. Not only did he invite me back, but he told me when there is practically no one else in the office.

When I get outside I get a call letting me know that the results to my paternity test are in. Wallace and I make an appointment to go in tomorrow after school.

After I dropped Wallace off I made a call. "I know you've been helping me a lot, but I'm hoping you could do me a favor tonight."

With a deep breath I made another call.

"Veronica? What's wrong?" Logan asked anxiously.

"Nothing," I said as my mouth dried out.

"So what's up then?" Logan asked suspiciously.

"I just wanted to let you know that I'm going in tomorrow to find out who is the father. If you still want to know I could call you afterwards or something," I said with more nervousness in my voice than I would have liked. I'm a long way from wanting to be close friends with Logan, but I figure I am ready for baby steps. The more I think about it the less angry I feel about his role. Yes he made stupid choices, but looking back so did I.

"Do you want me to come with you?"

"Wallace is going to come along for some BFF duty hand holding, but thanks. I just figured you might want to know the results."

"Of course I'd love to hear the results, but really it's whatever you want, Veronica. Whatever you need, just tell me."

Panic overwhelmed me and I cut off the conversation quickly with a promise to check in tomorrow.

Mac swung by the office while I was working and proposed we started a business digging up dirt on parents. She explains the potential for revenue and I'm intrigued. Yes I can barely keep up with school and my current cases, but the money is tempting. I promised to think about it and Mac asked to hire me to look into her own parents. I laughed and told her it would be free as a professional courtesy. Having a hacker owe me one, priceless.

I did some digging and found that her parents had won a million dollars from the local hospital. I agreed to keep digging and update her.

Weevil was right on time and showed up at 8:45. I drove us to the Sheriff's station and review what I need from him.

"Deputy Leo?" I called as I entered with the pizza I had picked up along the way.

"I figured you had forgotten about me," he said with a grin.

When we're halfway done with the pizza Weevil enters the building as planned. As Weevil throws a fit demanding all of Leo's attention I quickly sneak into the evidence room. Looking through the box of Lily Kane evidence I find cd copies of the tip hotline. Perfect. I wonder who gift wrapped Abel Koontz for Sheriff Lamb.

I ended dinner with Deputy Leo and met Weevil outside.

"Thanks you were perfect," I said with a grin.

"No problem, you ask for the most fun favors, Chica."

When we get into the car I tell Weevil what I was able to retrieve. "You know when I asked for your help in figuring out who really killed Lily I didn't really expect us to be able to find evidence."

I fake a gasp. "You mean you doubted my mad detective skills?"

"Nope, I just know how things work in Neptune. Evidence never seems to surface once an 09er buries it."

I had a hard time falling to sleep that night. It's insane to think that something as small as DNA will impact the rest of my life.

I felt a little like a zombie as I drove to school in the morning. I pulled into the parking lot and before I could get out of the car I heard a knocking on my window.

Logan holds up a coffee. "Don't worry, it's decaf. Figured it still might help you wake up. I had a funny feeling you had a hard time sleeping last night."

I'm tempted to blow Logan off, but I noticed his eyes have bags under them too. "Looks like you might need coffee as badly as me."

Logan shrugged. "I drank mine already. Are you trying to tell me I don't look pretty today?" he teased.

I rolled my eyes and accepted the coffee before heading over to Weevil. After a minutes hesitation Logan falls into step on my other side. I raised my eyebrows at him as Weevil tensed up.

"I just wanted to say good luck, Veronica. I know today's a big day. Talk to you later?" he asked a little insecurely.

I nodded because I didn't trust my voice not to break.

"What's going on with you and the rich boy, Veronica?" Weevil asked coldly.

"I'm not sure. I get the results from the paternity tests today and I told him I would let him know what I find out. I've just been thinking about it and while I'm no where near forgiving him I can see how he made poor choices. It's not like I made the best choices that night either."

"Please do not tell me you are going to be blaming getting raped on yourself, V," he said with anger leaking into his voice.

"No, I know it's not my fault I was raped. But it wasn't my best decision to crash an 09er party. I knew I wasn't welcome, I hadn't been welcome in months. It also wasn't smart to take a drink handed to me by an unseen partier. It doesn't excuse Logan or Duncan's choices, but it makes Logan getting wasted before having sex with me and sneaking out before his best friend can catch us seem a little less despicable."

Weevil's features soften slightly. "It's not your fault, V. No matter how stupid you were that night, it's not your fault."

"I didn't say-"

He interrupted me, "You didn't have to. It's not your fault."

Impulsively I hugged Weevil who seemed surprised. "Are you sure you want to be damaging your reputation by hugging someone like me, V?"

I laughed. "I think you're the one damaging your reputation."

At lunch a delivery person asked me, "Are you Veronica Mars?"

"Umm, yes?" I said without certainty.

"Here you go," he said as he unloaded several cartons of what smelled like Italian food.

"Wait, I didn't order this." I said as I thought to myself, 'nor can I afford it.'

"Paid for already, Miss. Just said to deliver it to Veronica Mars. Enjoy."

My phone buzzed alerting me to a text message from Logan. 'The baby was complaining about the cafeteria food.'

I bit back the sarcastic retort and managed to reply with a simple thank you.

After school I met Wallace at the Doctor's office. I turn my phone onto silent as I walked in. Nothing like knowing you're about to receive life-altering news to make a girl nervous.

I walked into Dr. Everett's office with Wallace.

"Veronica, how good to see you again. And this is?" she asked as she pointed to Wallace.

"Just a friend. I find I'm a little nervous today."

"Well you were right, one of the samples appears to be the father of your baby." She paused for a moment. "I hope this isn't a surprise that sample A is your baby's father."

I gulped, but couldn't think of anything to say. It was Logan.

"Veronica, I would really like to speak with you alone for a minute." I nodded and Wallace went to wait outside the room for me. "I'm a little concerned about the second sample you sent me. While it shared some DNA with the baby it shared disturbingly too much DNA with you. Without more investigation I would have to say you're closely related to sample B. My best guess would be a brother." She paused again, clearly uncomfortable. "Is there something you'd like to tell me about?"

I blinked at her for several minutes. Duncan was my brother? That was impossible, right? I mumbled that I must have gotten the samples mixed up as I stumbled out of her office.

I made it outside before losing my lunch in the bushes. Wallace held my hair and rubs my back until I'm done emptying my stomach.

"What did she want to tell you in private, V.?" he asked with a very concerned voice.

I shook my head in negation. I can't find the words yet. "I'll tell you later?" I asked as I tried to force the tears back down.

Wallace said, "Of course. I'm here for you, whatever you need, girl."

His words remind me of Logan's and my promise to call him with the results. I convinced Wallace I would be fine getting home. I stared at my phone for about ten minutes before I decide I can't do it. I planned on driving home and texting Logan later, but I found myself in front of the Echoll's mansion's gate.

I texted Logan that I was outside, and I asked him to let me in. The gate opened and I drove slowly in.

Logan met me outside. "Everything ok?"

I looked around and could still see the paparazzi at the gate snapping pictures. "Can we go somewhere a little more private?"

Logan blinked and then seemed to realize the surroundings. "Sorry, they're here so consistently that I almost forget about them." Logan led me into the house and up to his room. "What's wrong?" he asked softly.

I tried to get the words I needed to say out but failed. I decided to go with the easiest thing I wanted to say. "Sorry to just show up, I just couldn't call-" I started.

"Veronica, don't worry about that. What's wrong?" he asked again as he took a step closer.

With a deep breath I blurted out, "You are the father."

Logan stared at me for a minute before a huge grin took over his face. He hugged me and I started to cry. He pulled away and his eyes filled with hurt. "I'm sorry, I'm sure you wanted Duncan to be the father, but I'll do my best-"

I interrupted him, "No." I tried to continue, but I was overwhelmed with tears.

Logan murmured soothing words until the crying slowed enough for me to pull back. "It gets worse," I said. With another deep breath I decided to jump back in, "When they tested my cells to find the baby's father they realized that Duncan was a relative. Most likely a brother." I pulled further away and slid to the floor where I curled up and continued to sob.

Logan continued to murmur soothing words inching closer. "It's going to be ok, Veronica. We'll figure this out."

Logan's words startled me out of crying. "Figure it out, Logan? I just found out that not only was I raped, but I was raped by my brother! I don't think everything will be ok." With a start I remembered Duncan's purity test. "Oh my god, he knew."

Logan continues to try to sooth me, but I tell him I really need to see my Dad and I raced out of his house.

I got outside and was surprised to see my Dad pulling up. The universe didn't usually meet my desires this quickly. "Dad," I asked with tears in my voice.

"Veronica, I've been trying to call you for the last hour. There is a very bad man out there who doesn't like me very much, but he might like you a lot." He paused and looked at me as though he was trying to solve a mystery. "What's wrong, baby. Why are you here?"

"I got the DNA results today, Dad. Logan is the father."

"Logan? I didn't realize the two of you-"

"How could Duncan be my brother?" I interrupted him and asked in a rush.

"Oh, Veronica." He engulfs me in a hug without answering. "I have to go back to work, and this isn't the most private place for this discussion. Can we finish this tonight?" he asked when I finally stopped crying and pulled away.

I looked over to see the paparatzzi that I had forgotten all about. My face went red as I realized that they had gotten pictures of me crying and quite possibly had heard me say that Logan was the father of my child. I nodded and Dad followed me home and watched me make it into the apartment before driving away.

It isn't until I can't see his car anymore that I realize he wasn't surprised by the news that Duncan and I were related.


	11. Chapter 11

AN So here is the rest of the last story line….we'll have to wait a little longer for An Echolls' Family Christmas. I've already been working on how it will be able to be modified for my story line. Thanks for all the great feedback and encouragement. I've been working on this story a long time, and I'm really hoping to finish it this time. Keep up the encouragement, you don't know how much it helps!

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What is the answer for the girl who has found out that her first high school love may in fact be a close relative? Distraction. Throwing myself into Mac's case I am able to discover why the hospital had such a large pay out to her family. When I learned that Mac was switched at birth I vowed to get a new hobby and lo-jack my baby as soon as it was out of my womb.

I fell asleep before Dad came home. When I got up he was busy making breakfast. "Bacon?" he asked with a grin.

"So tell me about Duncan being related to me," I replied after grabbing some bacon.

He sighed. "Sweetie, I wasn't sure, but I knew your mother was cheating on me with Jake Kane off and on for years. I always hoped she would come to her senses, and I loved her so much-"

I interrupted him, "So you're saying you're not my father?" I wanted to be sick again. Hard to believe there could be worse news than finding out your secret brother raped you.

Dad crushed me into a hug. "Of course I am your father, Veronica. It's all about nurture, baby. You had to know that attitude was more than genetics!"

I leaned into his hug as much as possible and let myself sob. When my sobs died down Dad pulled back slightly. "Sweetie, how did you find out that Duncan was related to you?"

"The baby's DNA rest results," I said in a dead voice.

"I thought Logan?" my dad asked hesitantly.

What is a girl to do when caught between a rock and a hard place? Which is worse? For Dad to know someone at my school slipped me GHB or to think his daughter was slutty enough to have unprotected sex with two best friends close enough together to be unsure who the father of her baby was. When did my life turn into a non-stop Nelly video?

"When I went to Shelley's end of the school year party someone slipped something into one of my drinks." My voice trailed off before I gathered my courage to continue. "Logan and Duncan were both messed up too and I guess I somehow ended up with both of them." My face lit up with shame. I suppose it was only fair. I had pushed the Duncan being my brother thing, my dad has the right to push the unknown paternity issue.

To my intense relief Dad just held me until the smoke alarm went off alerting us that the rest of the eggs and bacon were beyond burnt.

I called Mac and told her I had news and was on my way.

When I got to her house she led me up to her room. She opened without pre-amble, "So what did you find out? Has to be pretty big for you to come deliver it in person."

I sighed before finally starting with, "Um…"

"Suspense effectively built. Hit me."

Dad always says, this is the job. Telling people stuff they might not want to know or might be better off not knowing. "It is big, like, life-altering big, so you should really think about if you want to hear it or if you'd rather just forget it and go on with your life. And may I suggest option B?"

"I'm adopted, aren't I? Go ahead and tell me, it would explain a lot."

"Well, yes and no, um, the Mackenzies aren't your biological parents."

"So what does that mean?"

"You were sent home from the hospital with the wrong family."

All of the color drained for Mac's face. "Oh my God."

"And there's more. Another family was awarded a million dollars at the same time. Um, another baby girl, born the day after you were and your biological parents took her home."

"Another girl, born a day after me. I was switched at birth with Madison Sinclair?" Mac looked sick and I wished she had selected option B. I tried to comfort her, but she just put on a fake smile and told me she was fine.

While I was driving home I heard on the radio that billionaire Logan Echolls was reported to be an expecting father. Fuck, not what I wanted. How could this happen? I tried to cal Logan to ask what the hell was going on, but his phone kept going to voicemail.

I arrived at his house and someone buzzed me through the gate. I resisted the urge to run over some of the paparazzi, but it was a close call.

"Ah Veronica, I wonder what brings you here? Perhaps the fact that we've made the news?" Logan's voice drifted down. "Really not a good time for me, but if you're using me for my paparazzi shielding gate feel free to stay. Mom and Dad left this morning to get away from the circus. Although, you might not want to be seen near me. Only a matter of time until they connect your name to the petite blonde being quoted as the mother of Logan Echolls' baby."

There was something off about Logan's voice. I wanted to take off and pretend I'd never been here. I wanted to pretend I'd never met Logan or at least never found out he was my baby's father. Instead I found myself climbing the stairs. "Logan?" I asked hesitantly.

"The one time I want you to walk away from me and you just keep coming closer, huh? Figures. In my room," he sighed reluctantly.

"Logan, are you alright?" I asked nervously, all of my anger seemed to have vanished when his broken voice drifted down.

"Veronica Mars, pretending you care now?"

"Logan, I-"

"Don't lie, Veronica. Your honesty is one your best qualities."

I walked in to see Logan was lying on his stomach on his bed. My anger flared back up as I realized he sounded broken because he was drunk. I stomped over and threw the blanket off of Logan. "Let's go, you have to help me-" I stopped as I saw Logan's back covered in red and oozing welts.

Logan turned and smirked drunkenly at me. "Help you with what, Veronica." He sat up wincing as he did.

"What happened, Logan?"

He shrugged and took another long drink out of his vodka bottle. I snatched the bottle and he sighed. "Don't think you're supposed to drink until the baby is born, Veronica."

"What happened, Logan?"

He sighed. "I'm fine, Veronica. Can't we just drop it?"

"Aren't you the one saying you want to be in my life, in our lives? It goes both ways, Logan. What the fuck happened?"

Logan sighed and looked away. In a voice devoid of all emotion he said, "Aaron wasn't impressed with the kind of press we're getting."

"Your father did this to you?" I asked as my voice cracked.

"Veronica, it's fine. I've had worse. I'm assuming you had a reason for coming? Can we please just get back to that?"

I shook my head in negation. "You've had worse? Aaron has hit you before? Logan, why-?"

"Why? What kind of question is that? Is there some reason he could give that would have this make sense?"

My anger flares back up. "No, ass hole, I was going to ask why you never said anything. I would have figured out a way to help."

Logan's face softened. "There was nothing anyone could do. It's ok, I'll be ok. And, Veronica, I need you to know I would never touch our child-"

I smiled sadly. "I know, Logan. Even if I thought you would I would never let you." This makes me ask. "Your mom?"

He shrugged again causing him to wince some more. "She might say something occasionally, but mostly she drinks until the whole thing doesn't bug her anymore."

"What do you need, Logan?"

"Why did you come, Veronica?"

"Honestly?" He nodded slowly. "I was angry. I thought us making the news was your fault. I'm sorry, I didn't realize anyone heard me when I told my dad." Suddenly the guilt hits me. "Oh, God, I'm sorry, Logan. This is my fault."

"Shh." He pulled me into an embrace even though I'm sure it hurt him. "It's not your fault. I haven't exactly been secretive about being the father. It was bound to come out. And I'm ok with that."

I let him hold me for a minute before I pulled away. "Why haven't you cleaned up and bandaged up the wounds?"

Logan laughed without humor. "I'm talented, but there is no way I can bandage up my own back."

With a task and a plan I feel more calm and focused than I have in days. "Lay down, Logan."

"Trying to get me into bed, Veronica?"

I glared at him until he complied while I went into the bathroom to get some washcloths, bandages, and first aid cream.

"You don't need to do this," he said sounding more vulnerable than I had ever heard him.

"You're right, I don't," as I gently cleaned and took care of his back.

"Why are you here, Veronica?"

"Why not?"

"Maybe because we're not friends. Isn't that what you told me?"

"I guess it's about time we were friends then."

Logan seemed to accept this as he was silent as I finished up bandaging his back. I found some Tylenol and got Logan to take a few to help with the swelling.

"I need to get home before my Dad starts to worry," I said softly.

A flash of hurt traveled through Logan's eyes before he nodded. He pulled on a shirt. "I'll walk you out."

"Do you want to come?" I asked before I could stop myself. If questioned later I planned on blaming the hormones, but I just couldn't leave Logan alone when he was this sad.

"And what will you tell your father, plan on trying to disguise me as a lost puppy who followed you home?"

"I could tell him the truth-"

"No."

"Logan-"

"No, Veronica. Please."

"Fine, we'll tell him we're both hiding out from the paparazzi. And before you get any funny ideas you will be staying on the couch."

Logan nodded and followed me to my car. Neither of us said a word, but somehow it felt natural.

When we got to my house my dad looked at me with questions bursting out of his eyes, but he just gathered up the spare blankets and got Logan set up on the couch.

I followed Dad to his room and gave him a hug. "I love you, Dad."

"Is this because I'm letting your boyfriend sleep on the couch?"

"Nope, it's because you are the best father in the world," I said with another hug.

In the morning I called Wallace and asked him to do me a favor and take Logan home. I figured the reporters camped in front of his house didn't need pictures of the pregnant girl dropping him off. Logan left with Wallace without saying a word, but words weren't really necessary. Everything was different and yet so much was the same.

It felt weird to arrive at school. I felt like years had passed, but it hadn't even been 24 hours. I ran into Mac. "Hey, did you get any sleep last night because I-"

Mac showed me a flyer she had been studying. "Helping to keep America beautiful by picking up the litter?"

Mac grins sheepishly. "Wanna crash a party with me?"

I rubbed my belly slowly as I said, "Bad idea, Mac. Bad, bad idea."

"It's my chance to see how the other half lives, especially since I should have been the other half."

"You really want me to go to Madison Sinclair's birthday party with you?"

Mac nodded and looked at me hopefully. "Please?"

I sighed dramatically. "Fine, but we'll need back up."

At lunch I was heading towards my usual table, but I noticed that Logan was again sitting away from the rest of the 09ers. With a deep breath I plopped down across from him. I noticed Weevil shook his head and left the quad, but sometimes even when you know you'll regret something you have to do it.

Logan raised an eyebrow as I sat. "Aren't you afraid you'll be spotted with me?"

I snorted. "Like you could make my reputation any worse than you already have." I regretted the words as soon as they left my mouth. Note to self, need to pick up a filter.

Pain flashed through Logan's eyes before he nodded. "You're probably right. If I say I'm sorry do you think we can move past what an ass I've been?"

"Maybe we can try?"

Logan smiled, but the pain was still in his eyes. "I'm sorry."

"I'm trying."

A Chinese food delivery guy interrupted us and after confirming that I was Veronica Mars he dropped off enough food to feed a dozen people. I looked at Logan with questions dancing through my eyes.

"Like I would let you eat the slop they serve here now."

Wallace plopped down next to me before I could respond. "Is that sweet and sour chicken I smell?" He started to dig through the bags and Mac came to sit on my other side.

I mouthed the word "Thanks" to Logan as my friends divided up lunch without ever commenting that Logan Echolls had joined our table.

When things were going too well Dick came and sat next to Logan. He grabbed an egg roll off of my plate and said, "What's going on?" I stiffened and started to get up.

Logan glared at Dick, but I shook my head. "I forgot I need to see the guidance counselor." I took one last bite of my lunch before standing the rest of the way. "Thanks for the food, Logan. You really don't need to bribe us with food."

"Speak for yourself, Mars. I am totally bribeable and food is the way to this man's loyalty," my BFF Wallace said with a grin.

Logan caught up with me before I could even get inside. "Are you ok?" he asked concerned.

"I'm fine. Go back and enjoy your lunch, Logan."

"You shouldn't skip meals. I told Dick he can't sit with me when you're there. You could have just told him to leave."

"I wouldn't want to keep you from your friends, Logan. It's not a big deal. I wasn't hungry anyway," I lied. "Hey, before I go see the counselor can I ask you for a favor?"

"Of course."

"Come with me, Mac, and Wallace to Madison's party tonight?"

Logan laughed at me. "You want to go to Madison's party? Why?"

"Not really want so much as need to go. It's a long story. Will you come with us?"

"Oh, yes. I think this will be something I don't want to miss," he said grinning.

After a twenty minute lecture on my educational options I was pissed. Yeah I know having a pregnant teen didn't make the school look good, but there was no way I was going to drop out and get my GED. Not that she'd come out and said it, but the hints were dropped.

On my way to class I ran into Dick. "Can I, um, talk to you for a minute, Ronnie?"

My eyes narrowed slightly at his use of my old nickname. "What's up, Dick?" I said not bothering to hide my frustration with him.

"Did I do something wrong today?" When I didn't answer immediately he continued, "I didn't mean to piss you off. Was it taking your egg roll? Lesson totally learned, I won't touch your food again. Just tell me what I can do. I get that you're going to be a part of Logan's life, but I don't want to be pushed out."

I stopped suddenly and Dick almost ran into me. Dick Casablancas sounding sincere. Maybe the world really is coming to an end. "You didn't do anything in particular to piss me off. I just don't like you. You don't like me either, right? So let's just work on co-existing without getting in each other's way."

"Come on, Ronnie, we used to be friends."

"Maybe, Dick, a long time ago."

I took a detour into the bathroom. First Logan sheds his psychotic jackass persona and now Dick Casablancas is reminding me we used to be friends and wanting to eat lunch with me? Bizzaro Neptune is a little much to handle.

I decided to skip the rest of the day and headed towards my car. Weevil came up to me. "My delinquent ways rubbing off on you, V?"

"You know it, Vato. Just became overwhelmed with the desire to skip school. Maybe knock over a bank. Wanna join?"

"How about we start with a drive and see where that takes us? I hear prison is a bad place to have a baby."

Weevil managed to wait a whole ten minutes before asking the question I know he's been dying to ask. "So you and Logan, huh?"

The disappointment was clear in his voice. I sighed. "Apparently our perspectives of the night in question were different. Did he make some shitty choices? Yup, but I believe he didn't mean to hurt me like he did. I'm trying to move past my anger. I feel like my kiddo deserves a father figure. And genetically Logan's all I have. Have I forgiven him completely? Of course not, but I'm working on it. If that changes things for you or something than-" I end defensively before Weevil interrupts me.

"I may not like the rich ass hole, but I trust your judgment, V. Just promise me that if he hurts you I will be your first call. I've been dying to punch him for months now."

"My dad won't like that I call you before him, but I promise."

Weevil grinned and for the first time he scared me a little. "This mean you're going back to the 09ers like the last year didn't happen?"

I laughed. "That would be a no. Some things you can't forget."

"So I must have misheard that you're planning on crashing Madison Sinclair's party tonight," he said with a hint of frustration in his voice.

"That's less of a desire to party and more of a favor for a friend. Mac is set on going for some personal reasons and there's no way I'm letting here near those people alone. My last couple of 09er parties haven't ended so well for me."

His face softened again. "You need backup?"

"Yes, but I have backup that will blend more. This more of a covert op. Promise to call if we hit any trouble though."

I dropped Weevil back at school so he could pick up his bike and I headed home to get ready for yet another fabulous 09er party. Logan texted me to say he was going to pick us up at my place. I tried to say we could just meet him there, but he insisted and then ignored my texts and phone calls.

We got to the door and I had to remind myself how much I liked Mac as we cried out, "Happy Birthday" to a surprised Madison.

"Who invited you?" she asked rudely.

"That would be me," Logan said as he put an arm around me. I resisted the urge to duck out of his grip as Madison struggled to come up with a way to kick us out without insulting Logan.

Mac disappeared as soon as we walked in. With a groan I look around for her. I'm stopped by a desperate looking kid asking me to help him research dirt on his parents. Reluctantly I tell him to look me up on Monday.

I finally found Mac talking to some kid while Madison is rude to her. I lead her out and Wallace and Logan spot us and follow.

When we got outside Mac turned to me, "Think she's even read five books in that library? She wouldn't know Monet's Water Lilies unless Revlon named a nail polish after it. I have a blood sister I've never even heard of."

"And Madison has a brother."

"Why didn't they just trade us back? We would have gotten over it eventually."

"Suppose they got kind of attached in those first four years?"

Mac shrugged and looked heart broken. "Think a distraction will help you to feel better?" Mac looks confused. "I'm in for the online PI business. I've thought about it and diapers just don't buy themselves."

Mac grinned and I knew complicated issues like biological family were shelved for the night. When we dropped off Mac I walked her to the door. "If I have a recording of a voice that's been modified to hide the person's identity could you decode it?"

Mac shrugged. "Sure, it might take me a few days to get it right, but it shouldn't be too hard."

I pulled out a copy of the call that gave Abel Koontz to Lamb. "You were that sure of my hacker prowess huh?"

"You know it, Q."

When Logan pulled up at my apartment I got the sense he didn't really want to leave. "You going to be ok going home, Logan?"

Logan laughed. "Don't worry about me, Veronica."

He pulled away before I could process that wasn't really an answer at all. Which, when I thought about it, told me he probably wasn't going to be ok. I tried to call Logan to invite him back over, but he didn't answer. I texted that he was always welcome at my place, but I knew he wouldn't come. That was too close to a lie and if he came the truth would drown us both.


	12. Chapter 12

A/N I own nothing from Veronica Mars (particularly the characters and the lines form An Echolls family Christmas I integrated into my story). Feedback is my crack and really helps to keep me motivated and on track! The story is heating up and I would appreciate all feedback. :)

I helped Dad decorate the tree. "Hey plus side of having a baby, I'll be able to blame the kid for all the handmade ornaments." I found a reindeer made of popsicle sticks. "Oh now this concerns me."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. You gotta put another Padres ornament over there."

I looked at Dad skeptically. "You know, there are some people who think Christmas is about the birth of Christ and not baseball."

"Well, we're all entitled to our own religions, Veronica. Besides, just wait until the baby is old enough for Christmas. I think you'll find little to do with the birth of Chris and much to do with keeping Toys R Us in business."

I smiled as I thought about my new business with Mac. Yes, it was keeping me busy, but as long as the rich kids kept asking for routine information I would keep finding the time to take their money. Dad was going to love his fantasy baseball camp and the baby fund was growing exponentially and we'd only been in business a couple of weeks.

In school the next morning I was showing Wallace the Padres fantasy camp I had ordered for Dad. He was teasing me about it not being a hot guy catalog when Duncan stumbled between us and almost knocked me over.

"I want my laptop now," he screamed at Weevil who had sauntered up.

"How does it feel to want?" Weevil asked sounding amused.

"I am not screwing around," Duncan snarled. Duncan grabs Weevil. Two of Weevil's boys grabbed Duncan and shoved him against the lockers. Duncan had the good sense to look a little scared. "I didn't take your money," he said with a little less force.

"Someone did." Weevil punched Duncan in the gut before walking away and softly telling his boys to let Duncan go.

Weevil spotted me and his face lit up. "V., how are you doing today?"

"Why is Duncan asking you for his laptop and saying he didn't take your money?"

Weevil smirked. "I wondered how much of that you heard. Surprised rich boy didn't call you last night. There was a poker game at Logan's last night-"

"You were at Logan's playing poker last night? And no one invited me?" I pouted.

"I didn't create the guest list. I hear about a five thousand dollar card game played by idiots, I'm interested. Big surprise I won, but the money was missing. I searched the place, but not as well as I would have liked."

"So let me guess. The boys will be missing items until you get your money?"

"You know me too well. But once I get my five grand some items may magically return."

"Hey, Weevil," I said softly as I tilted my head.

"See, there you go with that head-tilt thing. You know, you think you're all badass but whenever you need something it's all, _'hey.'"_ Weevil tilted his head in an imitation of me.

"Just be glad I don't flip my hair. I'd own you."

"So what can I do for you?"

"Give me Duncan's laptop? I'll buy it from you. Or figure out who stole your money."

Weevil rolled his eyes. "Any chance I'll get it back in one piece?"

"Umm, doubtful," I said even though I wanted to lie.

"Fine, I'll bring it by later. Just make sure you tell rich boy why I'm stealing an extra grand worth from him until I get my money," he said with a smirk.

"Who do you think did it? Was it Logan?"

"I know you don't want to hear ill of baby daddy, but I don't know, V. All I know is no one left with the money. I conducted a strip search, so I don't see how anyone else could have taken it."

"Not only was I not invited for poker, but you stripped down the boys without letting me watch? I'm heart broken vato."

"You know I'll strip down for you any time, Mama."

"Other than knowing no one left with the money, what makes you think it was Logan?"

"The rest of us may have taken a break to appreciate his Mom going for her nightly swim," he smirked. "Would have given him the chance to hide the money."

"Duncan was at the window?"

"Everyone but Logan was. I mean I didn't take notes, but I'm sure. I would've torn the place apart if I didn't think he'd call the cops."

"Thanks, Weevs. I'll let you know when I figure out who stole the money."

There was pizza waiting for me at lunch. I looked around for Logan, but I couldn't find him. I texted him thanks for the pizza, but he didn't reply.

I grabbed Dick after lunch. He looked surprised to see me, but he was smart enough to only say, "What's up, Ronnie?"

"Where's Logan?"

"He didn't come to school. Said he didn't feel so good today," he said nervously.

"Really? He was fine yesterday."

"That's all his text said. Can I go now?"

"Yeah, thanks." I had a bad feeling about what Weevil might have done to get his thousand dollars from Logan.

"What'd you take from Logan?" I asked him when I finally tracked Weevil down.

He put both hands up in front of himself defensively. "I told you I was going to get my money one way or another, V.-"

I gritted my teeth. "What did you take?"

"A Faberge egg. What's wrong, girl? You weren't this upset over it a couple of hours ago."

Shit that was probably from Aaron's collection. "I'll give you the grand for it. Give it now."

"What is it with you, girl? You going to want Sean's Rolex next?"

I dug five hundred out of my wallet. "I'll get the rest from the bank and have it for you later. The other 1500. Egg, now," I forced out.

Weevil led me away from his boys. "I don't want your money, V."

"Well I want the damn Faberge egg and you said items could return once you had your money. What? Think I'm not good for the rest?" I wondered if Padres camp was refundable because that check was going to bounce if I gave Weevil the other 1500.

"Chill, V. Of course I trust you. Meet me at your car in half an hour and you can have the egg. But I don't want your money. Tell Logan he's paying me back one way or another, but if it'll make you stop hyperventilating he can pick he collateral."

I felt relieved and I wanted to cry. Damn hormones. "Thanks Weevil."

"And you still want the laptop too right? Figure I'll be by around seven."

I winced as I pictured all that I had to get done. "Better make it eight."

Weevil brought me the egg as promised and I shook the whole drive to Logan's house. I see that his mother and father are home and I'm ashamed to say I'm afraid of running into Aaron. Somehow I think Lamb would delight in putting me behind bars for tasering the jerk.

Taking a deep breath I rang the bell. You're a bad ass, Mars, no reason to be scared.

Lynn answered the door and her eyes lit up. "Veronica, how good it is to see you. How have you been? You should be resting dear, you look big enough to pop any second," she said kindly in a rush.

"Can I see Logan? I heard he wasn't feeling well and I wanted to stop by." I looked down to prevent Lynn from seeing the anger in my eyes. She and I both knew why Logan was feeling poorly.

Lynn looked at me sadly. "He's in his room, but I'm not sure it's a good time, dear."

I forced a smile onto my face. "Thanks, Lynn. I promise I won't be long," I said as I rushed upstairs before she could stop me.

I stopped at Logan's door, suddenly unsure of myself. We hadn't talked about the scars I had seen or the fact that Aaron was presently hurting Logan. For a second I considered leaving in case Logan was angry with me, but I couldn't do it. Veronica Mars 2.0 isn't scared of anything and when she is scared she pretends she's not.

I knocked softly and let myself in even though Logan didn't answer. "Logan?" I called out softly.

"What are you doing here Veronica?"

"I could ask you the same thing," I joked, relieved Logan was up and walking around.

"You could, but it'd be stupid. This is my room in my house. Why are you here? I told you not to come while Aaron was here."

I knew how unhappy Aaron was that he was about to be a grandfather. Sure, he was smiling to the press, but he had made his displeasure known to Logan and I had agreed to not be anywhere near him. Not at all hard, all I wanted to do was kick Aaron in the groin and taser him unconscious. "I was worried. I heard about the game and Dick gave me some lame reason for why you were absent," I said a little less confidently. Logan seemed fine, maybe I had just been silly.

Logan stepped closer to me. I gasped as I took in his black eye. Logan grinned. "Not only did you talk to Dick, but you were worried about me?"

He looked like I'd just told him he'd won the lottery and my heart broke a little. Smiling had to make his face hurt, but he clearly didn't care. "Of course I was, you ass. Can't we do something? It's not safe for you here."

His face darkened. "I'm fine. I'm not leaving my mother here."

"What will you do when I have the baby? Have visitation after school? There is no way my kid will step foot in this house so I guess there won't be any co-parenting," I said letting anger creep into my voice.

"I'll figure it out," Logan said coldly. "Was there anything else because as you can see I'm perfectly fine."

I dropped his Faberge egg onto the bed. "Just thought you might want this."

I felt silly and decided it would be worth staying up all night for a few days working on background checks to just pay Weevil his money back.

"What did you do, Veronica?"

I shrugged and turned to leave. Logan grabbed my arm and pulled me back. "What did you do for Weevil? He wouldn't just give this up, no matter how cute you are when you tilt your head," he gave me a small smile at the end and loosened his grip on my arm.

"I took the case and told him I'd figure out who stole his money."

Logan looked at me skeptically. "And?"

I sighed. Damn the boy for being perceptive. "I'm giving him the money tonight. Had to run by the bank, not all of us roll like that," I said lightly like I wasn't emptying my bank account.

Logan ran his hand through his hair. "There is no way I'm letting you do that. Give him back the damn thing. Aaron will forget it in a week anyway."

I snorted. "Please, Logan. Try another one."

His phone chirped and he checked it. Smirking at me, "You didn't tell me Weevil told you to have me put up something else as collateral." He looked confused for a second. "Why is he asking for two grand worth?"

I rolled my eyes and tried to sound teasing as I said, "He's being a jerk. He just doesn't like you. Give him something worth 1000. You'll get it back anyway. I'm going to figure out who stole the money. Speaking of, any thoughts on who could have done it?"

Logan shrugged. "No idea. Everyone had moments of getting up from the table, but I searched the pool house and didn't find anything."

"You didn't take the money, did you, Logan?"

His face shut down. "Nope, so pass along this as a token of my regard to Weevil and I'll see you around," he said as he shoved his watch into my hands and turned away.

"Logan-"

"Bye, Veronica."

With a sigh I decided it was probably better that I took off. I made it to the door before I heard a smooth voice, "Hello, Veronica."

I turned and forced my face into a smile. "Hello, Mr. Echolls. I was just leaving so-"

"I've told you, call me Aaron. Mr. Echolls was my father," he said with his million dollar smile. "Leaving so soon? Don't tell me Logan didn't invite you to dinner."

"Dad called and told me he is making me a special dinner."

"Ahh, another time then?" he asked as though he didn't hate me.

I forced out one last smile. "Sure."

I got to the office in time to see Lynn leaving. "What's she doing here? They hate me."

"They don't hate you, they just hate the negative media attention Logan is getting right now."

I laughed. "Yeah, and Lynn wasn't here asking you to keep me away from her precious son?"

"Nope, she wants my help tracking down one of Aaron's stalkers. Be careful if you're over at that house until I catch the guy, ok, sweetie?"

I got through three background checks before Dad comes back into the reception area. "Hey, do you have a minute to run by the Echolls' house for me? I need Lynn to sign a few papers."

It must be my lucky day. Two visits in one day to one of my least favorite places in town.

I get to the house and am relieved to see Aaron's car is gone. I ring the bell and Lynn happily signs my papers. She tells me Aaron is at his tennis lesson and Logan is in the pool house if I wanted to stop by.

I'm tempted to leave without seeing him again. He was so hurt and angry when I asked if he stole the money I don't know that he really wants to see me right now. I remind myself that avoidance gets me nowhere and head over to the pool house. I don't bother to knock and let myself in. Logan is immersed in a video game. I can't help looking around the pool house. It looks like a tornado hit it.

"I love the smell of testosterone in the morning," I say snarkily.

"This is why I suggested attack dogs. But no, my mother wanted an alpaca."

I rolled my eyes. "Come on, you know I had to ask." I sighed and continued more softly. "I'm sorry." Logan looked at me and didn't say anything. "My dad sent me over with some paperwork for your mom to sign."

"And you just wanted to say hi? Don't I feel special."

"Logan, I said I was sorry. Can you really blame me?" He glares for a second before changing to just looking hurt. I guess he can blame me. "Can I ask a few more questions about the game?"

Logan shook his head. "Could I stop you?"

I stepped closer to him. "I'm not trying to hurt you. I just need to find the truth. You said you didn't do it, I believe you. Now can I ask my questions?"

Some of the hurt drained out of his eyes and he turned back to his game. "Ask away, Nancy Drew."

"Was there anything odd?"

"Did you really just ask me if anything odd happened during poker with the boys?" He rolled his eyes at me. "Duncan was so drunk he wouldn't have noticed if someone stole his pants let alone the money. Sean was so focused on his ghetto beer he wouldn't have noticed anything either."

While he seems less angry I have the feeling I won't get much more out of Logan today. He's still hurting and Logan is prone to sulking. I turned to leave.

"Hey, wait. You should talk to Conner."

"Conner? Conner Larkin?"

"He's a mortal, believe me. They just draw his abs on."

I rolled his eyes. "Are you sending me after him because you don't like him?"

Logan smirked. "That's just a bonus. He appears to have developed a habit and addicted people do desperate things." He sniffed a few times implying Conner had a drug problem.

"I would love to question Conner," I said, emphasizing love. "Somehow I don't think I'll be able to get anywhere close to him. I'm sure he has a whole team of bodyguards specifically to keep him away from people like me."

Logan smirks at me. "I honestly don't get it." He turned away and talked into his cell phone. "Hey man. It's, uh, Logan Echolls. Yeah. Hey, listen, can you get, uh, my friend…a drive-on today to see Connor? Yeah, Veronica Mars. No, Veronica, 'V' as in 'virgin. Thanks, I owe you, man." Logan turned back to me smiling. "There you go. Problem solved."

I smiled at him. "Look at you, all helpful."

"Hey, your peskiness being unleashed on Connor brings me joy."

"Thanks, Logan."

"Annoy, tiny blonde one. Annoy like the wind!" he called after me.

As I walked to the set I started to regret my line of work. Being 6 months pregnant does not make tracking down bad guys any easier. I reach the set in time to see a shirtless Conner jump out of a fake helicopter. Damn. I don't know if Conner's smile is really worth a million dollars, but his six-pack abs are worth at least double that. I repeat damn.

"Too shiny?" Conner asked as I realized I missed the end of the scene.

"Umm, no?"

"My helicopter gets shot down mid-flight so I'm supposed to be sweaty but I don't want to be gross."

I looked down to his abs and looked back up smiling. "I think you're good."

"So, uh, let me guess. You want to be an actress," he said not bothering to hide the awkwardness.

I rolled my eyes. We both knew even if that had been my dream it wasn't happening now. "Just a friend of Logan's. I actually wanted to ask you about the game."

"Ah, yes, that was a fun night," he said clearly relieved that I wasn't going to ask him to help get me a career in acting.

"I heard it got a little weird. Someone stole all the money?" I asked when he didn't offer any other information.

"Yeah. And I feel sorry for the kid who won, too. He was pretty cool. He was real, you know what I'm saying?"

Yeah, I do. You met someone not worth a billion dollars, shock he fell under real. "Any idea who took it?"

"It could have been anyone." He was drinking some type of tea and he tossed the bag onto the ground. He went on to tell me about the pizza delivery guy and Logan's attempt to short the guy in tip money.

Way to highlight the part of the night that makes my friend look the worst. Maybe Logan was right and Conner really does have a problem with him.

"Hm. Aw, it's my agent. Can you excuse me?"

I took off myself. I'd have to hurry to make it home in time for dinner. It's funny, but the bigger my belly got the more Dad worried when I got home late.

Weevil got to my house at eight as planned. Dad was in the shower so I went outside to meet Weevil. I gave him Logan's watch and he gave me Duncan's laptop. "Do I want to know what you plan on doing with this?"

I smiled sweetly at him. "Probably not."

"Any chance you'll explain why you were so worried about a damn Faberge egg?"

"Appreciation for the arts?" I quipped. I knew I should tell someone about Aaron, but even if I was going to start I know it shouldn't be with Weevil. I wondered if Logan would let me put cameras up in his house to get some evidence about the abuse.

Weevil rolled his eyes. "Fine, but we both know when whatever you're planning gets you into trouble it'll be 'can I have a favor?'" he said in a high pitched voice.

I smiled. "Only because I know you've got my back, Vato."

"I do. I just wish I wasn't following you towards the 09ers. You don't need them."

"If I tell you what I want the laptop for will you stop trying to bash Logan?"

"For tonight," he said with a grin.

"Duncan used to keep a journal on his computer. I'm thinking it might be an interesting read."

"I tried to boot it up, it's password protected."

"Vato, I hate to break it to you, but you're not the only criminal I know."

Before I went to bed I called Mac. "Want to do me a favor, Q.?"

"Good timing, Bond. I just de-scrambled your recording. Investigating Lily's murder huh?"

"I have to, she was-"

"No judgment. If you want to come over tomorrow morning I could play it for you. It'd have to be early. My parents are taking me camping."

"Sure, I'll be there first thing."

"So what's the other favor you want?"

"Well, I may have found myself in possession of a laptop, but I don't know the password."

"Have you tried asking the owner for the password," she joked.

Feeling a little guilty I admitted, "It's Duncan's. Long story, but I'd like to see what's on it. And I don't think he would be inclined to help me out."

"Hey I'm not asking any questions. Drop it off in the morning, it shouldn't take me long to break in and copy the hard drive for you."

"You're the best, Mac."

Dad was already gone when I got up. Apparently I wasn't the only one working extra hard this Christmas season.

I gave Mac Duncan's laptop and she immediately worked on breaking in while she had me listen to some different speeds of the anonymous tip that gave Lamb Abel Koontz.

"I'm in. Anything in particular you want or just everything?"

"Everything. I'm not really sure what I'm looking for. Can you double check for any documents with passwords too?"

Mac snorted. "Of course, what kind of amateur do you take me for?"

I tried the second to last speed that Mac had cued up for me. I cried out, "I know that voice." And really, how could I not? It's not like I hadn't helped Lilly get into enough trouble. Clarence Weidman, head of Kane Software security was someone I would recognize anytime. Why would Jake's head of security be the one to place an anonymous tip setting up Abel Koontz.

Mac gave me a zip drive, which she said contained all of Duncan's documents. "Not sure what you're looking for, but that's everything. Did you need anything else? The great outdoors awaits me," she said sarcastically.

I was very tempted to have her erase the laptop. Much more high tech than my original plan of smashing it into little pieces. I was stopped by the thought that it might pay to find out what exactly was on the computer before destroying it.

I left Mac's and realized I didn't really have anywhere to go. I decided to do some more research and I swung by Sean's house. His dad answered the phone and told me Sean wasn't permitted visitors at home. The strangest part was he was wearing a suit at 10am on a Saturday.

I swung by the office and worked on some background for Dad and some more cases for my business with Mac. When work was done I pulled out the zip drive of Duncan's documents and started to go through them. I was pleased to see that Duncan still kept his journal on his computer.

I was disgusted to learn that Celeste had told Duncan we were siblings. He'd taken over two weeks to process and "break up" with me. He wrote about not being able to dampen his feelings for me and hating me because of it. At least now I knew what exactly I had done wrong. It really bothered me that Duncan was still attracted to me. As soon as I heard the doctor say Duncan was my brother all of my former attraction was gone.

He admitted to raping me. I want to shove the words down Lamb's throat. Ironically the rape only increase his hatred towards me. He blamed me and claimed I had been leading him on and teasing him with the forbidden fruit. I kid you not, he wrote the words forbidden fruit. And here I thought it was just poor luck that intensified the way kids treated me, but Duncan was behind it because of his own misdirected self-hatred for raping his sister.

Duncan had no idea that Logan had also slept with me that night, but he did write all about slipping Logan some GHB to help him loosen up after Logan tried to talk him out of using me as a salt lick.

But all of that paled in comparison to what Duncan had written a week after his sister's death. He didn't remember anything. He didn't remember what he was doing that day, he didn't remember heading Lily was dead and he didn't remember the days following. He was haunted with the feeling that he should remember more, but he had no idea. Which told me he didn't really have an alibi. What could have happened that was so bad that Duncan forgot a whole week of his life?

I saved a second copy of Duncan's files and left one in Dad's safe. Better safe than sorry. I definitely was not going to destroy the computer. I didn't want Duncan to know I had seen his journal and Weevil wouldn't have a good reason for smashing it.

I called Wallace and invited him over for movie night. I was not in the mood to be alone and Dad was in Vegas tracking down a bail jumper. I had the snickerdoodles in the oven by the time he was knocking on my door. Time to drown the disturbing thoughts with BFF time, movies, and food.

By the time I went back to school on Monday I had figured out who stole the money. I went up to Logan at lunch even though he was surrounded by the rest of the 09ers, including Duncan. "So, good news, bad news. The good news is, I know who stole the money. The bad news is, I know who stole the money. Here's my brilliant idea. Filled with holiday spirit, Logan will host another game."

Logan smirked at me, "Will I?"

"I'm thinking tonight," I said smirking back.

"Mm, no, my mother's Christmas party is tonight," Logan said still smiling. The smile told me missing the party wouldn't be the end of the world.

"Mm, so no BYOB. Here's how it will go down," I sat down next to Logan who froze in shock. I'll tell you who did it and you'll buy me into the game. I'll just take the place of whoever stole the money. Unless you still might think you want him around?"

"What makes you think this will happen if you keep talking?" Logan asked.

I grinned at Logan and resisted the urge to tease him about doing anything for me. "Oh. I thought you guys might all want your stuff back."

"Yeah. If I get my five grand, some items could…magically reappear," Weevil said with a grin as he stole a slice of pizza.

"And if you think about it, anyone who doesn't see this as a great offer is obviously the thief. Kind of a no-brainer."

"Do you even know how to play poker?" Logan asked.

"No, but it must be really hard if all you guys play."

I got to Logan's pool house just in time for the poker game. Duncan looked up and said, "Ho, ho….ho," in a very cold voice.

I dropped my bag ignoring him. Weevil stepped over and picked it up. "Allow me. You want a sodey-pop or somethin'?"

"You know, I think I want something with a little more kick." I grabbed Duncan's bottle of whiskey off the table and chugged almost half of it. "Ah…"

Duncan sneered at me, "Bitch."

"Damn girl," Weevil cried out. "Don't you know you shouldn't drink like that in your condition?"

"Iced tea?" I asked Duncan.

He glared at me, but nodded his head in affirmation.

"No, he didn't play drunk to steal your money, he played drunk to win your money. To no avail it seems. Oh, and Connor isn't a drug addict. I know the constant bathroom visits. He wasn't going for a fix. He was going because of the Sun Tea. It's that diuretic wrestlers down when they need to make weight or that actors use before they're half naked on the cover of 'Vanity Fair'." Conner looked slightly embarrassed and I realized I could have toned down the explanation a little.

I moved to stand behind Logan. "And then, there's bachelor number three. And he's got it all. Motive. Access. Looks like an evildoer, smells like an evildoer, but surprisingly...not so much. Weevil cleared him." Logan tensed until I said he was cleared and he relaxed. "He told me he searched the room but didn't go through it as much as he wanted. When I saw it, it looked like it had been raided by the FBI. If Logan took the money and hid it, he wouldn't have had to tear the room apart looking for it. So, two left. The boy from the wrong side of the tracks and the boy who lives in the most expensive house in the 09er zip."

I paused dramatically. "So, do you want to hear how Sean did it? Ah, he's a crafty little bugger. Sean didn't bring the Big Mouth Joes because he's cheap. He knew he couldn't leave with the money, so he didn't. What happens to garbage in the 09er zip? He just waited for the recycling to go out the next day and did a little garbage picking."

"Sean? What? The guy has a chauffeur drive him to school everyday. Why would he need to steal?" Logan asked.

"Funny story. When I went to Sean's, I couldn't help but wonder what was his dad doing at home, three in the afternoon, dressed in a suit instead of being at work? Unless he was at work. I have to say, I was a bit miffed. I was this close to being able to say the butler did it. But no, it was the butler's son."

Sean glared at me. "That doesn't prove anything."

"Well, that proves that you're a liar and the background check I ran on you proves that you've got a bit of a shoplifting problem. You are really bad at it."

Weevil yanked him up by his shirt. "I can totally pay you. There's really no need for physical violence."

"Let's take a little walk and discuss a few things, huh?"

"Mind if I deal boys?" I grabbed the cards and shuffled them in a professional way.

A few hands later and I was only a couple hundred dollars away from winning the pot.

"You must be really unlucky in love," Conner says. He seems to realize this comment was a little impolitic due to my being pregnant and he flushes.

Duncan starts to turn red and looks like he is about to explode. Logan stood up and said, "Okay. I say we take a little break. Let the cosmos realign because obviously something's up."

Weevil escorts me into the party to grab some food.

"Seriously, don't I just blend right in? Come on. Where's Weevil?"

"I think we both stand out a bit."

"Yeah, right. You are a natural at this. Look at you."

I laughed. "Yeah, right." I rubbed my belly. "I think we both stand out a bit." I saw Jake Kane leaving the party and heading to a side room. I decided it was time to have a conversation with the sperm donator. "Can you hold this for a minute?" I asked as I passed my plate off to Weevil.

I slipped into the room after Jake and closed the door. "I have a question for you."

"Hello, Veronica," Jake says sounding tired.

"What kind of a man allows his son to date the daughter of his mistress?"

"I don't know."

"You had to wonder, Jake, or maybe I should say Pops? You're right thought, totally better to be stuck with the revolting knowledge that I've kissed my half brother. It could be worse, people could have known you cheated on your wife."

"You're not making any sense," Jake said, with anger creeping into his voice.

I laughed sharply. "Don't pretend you didn't know. Celeste told Duncan, after we'd been dating for over a year. Full of consideration that one is. Can't imagine why you cheated on her," I said with my voice shaking a little at the end.

"I don't know what you're talking about. What do you mean? How could you be Duncan's half sister?"

I laughed again. "Don't play like that. You slept with my mother. She got pregnant. I suppose it really all went down the way it usually goes down. What did you think would happen?"

"I don't know."

"You never wondered? Never thought it would be prudent to error on the side of caution with this one?"

"I didn't know!" he screamed.

I opened the door and turned to leave. Before I did I whispered, "I don't believe you."

I went back out and retrieved my plate from a frustrated Weevil. I helped him finish loading up on munchies as Jake came out and started to yell at Celeste before dragging her off. Maybe he didn't really know, but I have to say I don't think that's enough of an excuse. He should have known.

I was looking for Logan when Lynn had everyone head outside. I was almost out when I heard a commotion behind me. I turned around in time to see a woman in a waitress outfit stab Aaron. He fell to the ground almost instantly as the pool of blood spread further.


	13. Chapter 13

A/N Just in case I don't say it enough I don't own Veronica Mars, any of the characters, plot, or lines that I quote from the show. This chapter will be a little more AU than some chapters and will continue with some of the stuff from An Echolls family Christmas. Thanks so much for all the great feedback! It's very motivating! I'm hoping to reach 100 reviews soon, I'm so close. Please do review, it helps me to write more quickly, I promise!

Distantly I could tell people were calling for an ambulance, but I shoved through the sea of people so I could search for Logan. Aaron may be an abusive ass hole, but he was still Logan's father.

By the time I found Logan the ambulance was loading Aaron in. Lynn climbed in after him and Logan stared blankly.

I grabbed his hand. "Come on," I said softly.

"What?" Logan said as he blinked at me.

"I'll drive you to the hospital."

Logan looked like he wanted to argue, but he only nodded in affirmation and followed me out. I texted Weevil that I was taking Logan to the hospital, and he agreed to pass the word that the game was officially over.

I didn't know what to say to Logan as we were driving. What can you say to someone who may have witnessed his father being stabbed? Everything I thought of saying felt stupid, and I felt like I was letting him down. Funny how much can change in a few months.

"Why are you taking me to the hospital?" he asked, his voice hoarse.

"I'm sorry, I thought you would want to check on your Mom and Dad. If you want I could bring you home, but-"

"No, I know why I'm going to the hospital. Why are you coming?" he said emotion raw in his voice.

Well isn't that the million dollar question. Finally I stopped at a red light and turned to him, "I'm trying, Logan." I knew it wasn't the answer he was looking for, but he nodded solemnly and turned to look out his window.

When we got to the hospital I was tempted to let Logan out, but I pulled into the parking area instead. I just couldn't ask Logan to go face his parents on his own. Looks like I'm turning soft.

The nurse at the ER check in desk wouldn't confirm Aaron had been brought in or tell us where he was. I don't think she believed that Logan was really Aaron's son, but it didn't really matter. Before Logan could ask to speak to the management we were all distracted by the sound of a woman screaming. Logan and I immediately moved towards that voice ignoring the doctors and nurses asking us not to enter the restricted part of the ER. How could we not ignore them when Logan's mother was just ahead screaming?

We reached Lynn in time to see her talking to a doctor who was saying, "I'm so sorry, but there wasn't anything we could do, Mrs. Echolls." Lynn swooned and several doctors rushed over to check on her.

I grabbed Logan's hand, but I couldn't find any words. Aaron Echolls was dead? Maybe it made me a bad person, but I couldn't help feeling happy that he was gone. It made me feel like the world had gotten a little safer.

Logan pulled me forward and he went towards his mother. He was pushed away as the doctors examined her to ensure she was ok. Lynn had only fainted, but the doctors couldn't calm her down so they gave her a light sedative and admitted her overnight for observation. Logan tried to stay with his mother, but the doctors convinced him he should head home as she would be sleeping through the night.

I gently pulled Logan back towards the car. "Logan, I'm so sorry-"

"Don't, Veronica. Just, don't," he said softly.

"What do you want me to say? What can I do?"

Logan snorted as he pulled out a flask and took a long drink. "Don't pretend that he was an amazing father and I'm going to fall apart now that he's gone," he said smirking at me.

I can see the relief in his eyes, but I also see sorrow buried deeper. "I just meant-"

"Look, Veronica, it's ok," he said smiling sadly. "I'd invite you to have a drink and celebrate with me, but I don't think it'd be good for the baby." Logan takes another long drink and I wonder just how much that little flask can hold.

"Probably a wise plan for the baby and for us since I'm driving."

Logan took another drink and then peered out the window. He turned to me and drunkenly said, "Where are you driving me to anyway?"

Damn I had hoped he wouldn't notice until we were safely at my place. "My apartment."

"Veronica, if you wanted to get me into bed you only had to ask. No need to kidnap me," he said as he grinned drunkenly at me.

I rolled my eyes. "You wish, Logan. Weevil texted me while we were at the hospital. Your place is ground zero for the paparazzi. I thought it might be nice to avoid them for the night," I finished softly.

"Admit it, you just want me for my body."

We pulled into the parking lot. "I wouldn't say things like that around my Dad, Logan."

"Your dad is home? What was behind door number two again? Paparazzi? Sounds good to me. Home, Jeeves?" Logan asked sarcastically.

"Come on, Logan. I'm not dropping you off to spend the night in that mansion alone. Deal with it."

I got out of the car and headed towards the apartment assuming Logan would be following. I was almost to the door before he got out of the car and hesitantly started to follow me. Dad wasn't happy, but I gave him a look and he mouthed that he needed to talk to me in five minutes. I got Logan situated on the couch with some hot chocolate, and I pretended not to notice when he dumped the rest of his flask into it.

I headed into Dad's room. "Veronica, I thought we talked about bringing strays home."

"It's just one night. We watched his father get murdered today and his mother passed out at the hospital and is there for observation. He shouldn't be alone tonight."

"Veronica, I appreciate you're trying to be a good friend, but didn't we discuss co-ed sleepovers?"

I snorted. "I think it's a little late for that, Dad, don't you? If there isn't anything else I'm going to go bake some cookies and comfort a friend," I said as I left without waiting for a response.

"What'll it be, Logan?"

"I wouldn't say no to some Jack Daniels," Logan said with a smirk.

"I was thinking more along the lines of peanut butter, chocolate chip, or snickerdoodle cookies."

Logan rolled his eyes. "Cookies? You are such a girl scout."

"Just wait until you try them." I started to pull down ingredients.

"Snickerdoodles sound nice," Logan said softly. "I always loved those, but Dad hated them so I haven't had any in a very long time."

I started to mix ingredients, and when I turned around to put them into the oven I jumped because Logan was right behind me. "Logan," I said as I pushed him. "You scared me."

"Sorry," he said as he stepped back. "Need any help?"

"Nope, got it covered. Your drunk butt can head back to the couch."

"I'm not drunk, someone wouldn't bring me alcohol and brought me here where there are no liquor cabinets. I'd be more than happy to fix this problem, just say the word."

I grabbed Logan's hand. "Logan, if you really want to leave you can. I'm just trying to help."

"Why, Veronica? Why are you being so helpful?" he said, drawing out the last word mockingly.

"Do I really need a reason?"

Logan laughed dryly. "Of course you do. Didn't I need one to be nice to you? To want to be a part of my kid's life? So what's your motivation, Veronica?"

"Because you'd be there for me if I needed you?"

Logan sighed and stumbled back into the living room. He looked disappointed and I wanted to be able to make him feel better. I followed him into the living room and pulled him into a hug.

"Because you're a part of my life." He pulled back away and his eyes were full of sadness. I pulled him back into my embrace and he stood there stiffly. "Because I'm trying." I wanted to be able to say more because I knew that's what he wanted to hear, but I couldn't. I couldn't lie even to give him comfort.

I went back to check on the cookies, and I pulled them out so they could cool off. When I came back to the living room Logan was sitting on the couch with his head in his hands. I sat down next to him and pulled his head into my lap.

We must have fallen asleep like that because I woke up an hour later. I was stiff from the awkward position and I had to pee so badly I was worried about an accident. The baby likes to play soccer with my bladder. I slipped away, but Logan shot up. "What's wrong?" he said, his voice full of sleep.

"I need a bathroom break," I said with a smile. I stifled a wince as pain shot up my back. "And perhaps a change of setting?"

Logan blinked and then nodded. I went to the bathroom and when I came back Logan was stretched out on the couch faced away from me. I tried to gently shake him awake and I said his name a few times, but he was either very deeply asleep or pretending to be asleep. With a sigh I kissed his forehead and went to bed.

I woke up to the smell of pancakes. I went out to the kitchen with a smile on my face. My smile faltered a little as I looked for Logan. I looked back to Dad with my questions written plainly on my face. "Logan took a cab back to his place, Veronica. He wanted to be able to shower and drive to the hospital to pick up his mother as she was getting discharged this morning."

My eyes darted to the door and for a second I considered trying to track him down. "I think he needs some time alone with his mother, Veronica."

I turned on the tv while I was eating my pancakes, but after two minutes of watching the world grieve for Aaron Echolls I turned it off in disgust. I tried calling Logan after breakfast, but I got his voicemail. I left him a message reminding him I was there if he wanted anything.

Weevil stopped by and gave me the money I'd won in the poker game. He looked like he wanted to offer more, but with a quick hug he was off in a cloud of dust.

A few days later I felt like I was going crazy. Logan wasn't returning my calls, and I didn't want to cross the line into stalking.

It was a relief when vacation was over and I could go back to school. I figured I would see Logan, but he texted me early to tell me he wouldn't be back to school for a few more days as he and his mother had gone to visit Aaron's parents for a little vacation.

I was even more frustrated when I got to school and had an invitation to visit Ms. James to discuss my feelings over Lily's death. Apparently she got a grant to study grief in adolescence. Lucky us. I was ready to decline, but I got a better idea. I was regretting my plan when a bunch of naked guys ran by. Why isn't high school over yet?

Ms. James tried to get me to talk about my feelings. She stressed I'd never move on if I didn't deal with what I was feeling. After switching out her stapler for the one bugged one I'd brought in my bag I said, "Sorry, that was rude. It's not you. It's the talking. I don't want to talk away my grief. I want to turn it into something else. Fuel. I know how I'm gonna feel better and it's not by talking about how sad I am. I'll find closure when Lilly's killer's rotting away in prison."

I quickly left before she could reply. I stumbled through classes, but what I really wanted to do was listen to who Ms. James pulled out to talk to about Lily and what they had to say.

At lunch I sadly grabbed food in the cafeteria. Can this day get worse? Meat loaf surprise. I sat down across from Wallace. "What's up, soda pop?" I asked with a forced smile.

Wallace looked up at me and smirked. "You might want to look behind you, V."

I turned to see a very nervous looking Dick Casablancas holding a couple of boxes of pizza. "Hey, Veronica. Logan asked me to bring you lunch," he said as he held up the boxes a little higher.

"Umm, thanks?" I said without conviction. He set the boxes down and looked nervously at me. "Did you need something else?"

"I was wondering if maybe I could sit-"

Mac walked up and opened one of the boxes before interrupting Dick. "Hey you got vegan pizza, sweet!"

Dick opened the other box and grabbed a slice. "Nevermind," he mumbled before turning away and walking towards the 09ers typical table.

I was frustrated that Dick looked sad enough for me to feel sorry for him. When we got to class I told him softly, "Why don't you wait until Logan is back to join us? I just think things would be too awkward right now."

Dick's whole face lit up. "Really? Awesome. Any requests for food tomorrow?"

"You don't need to buy me lunch, Dick."

Dick laughed, "Dude, who said I bought it? Logan gave me money and told me to make sure you and the baby didn't touch the meatloaf surprise."

Before I could answer Dick I got a note requesting my presence at my locker. I was a little surprised since I have the list of "surprise" locker searches and I wasn't up again for anther few weeks.

I got to my locker and was surprised to see that the vice principal was standing next to Sheriff Lamb. "Sending out the big guns in the morning. I'm flattered," I said snarkily to cover my anger. I couldn't look at Lamb without wanting to taser his insensitive ass.

"Veronica, the sheriff wants to have a look inside your locker," Vice Principal Van Clemmons said.

"Of course he does." I entered my combination, but before I opened my locker I turned to Lamb, "Just out of curiosity, what are you gentlemen hoping to find in here? Al Capone? The Lindbergh baby?"

"We have reason to believe that you are manufacturing and distributing fake driver's licenses."

Fake IDs? Why would Lamb think I was the head of a fake ID ring? "Ooo, that's a new one."

"It's a second degree felony," Lamb said with a smug grin.

"Lord knows, I hate to disappoint you boys," I said as I opened my locker. I was shocked to see about thirty blank IDs fall to the floor. "Wait a minute, those aren't mine."

Lamb picked some of them up and turned towards me smirking. He searched my bag and found my fake ID and a fake ID Lily had gotten that I had held onto. "Oh yeah, those are mine." Lamb pulled out handcuffs. "You really don't have to do that," I said.

"You're right about that. But I'm going to anyway," Lamb said still smirking as he cuffed me.

He was leading me away when Clemmons called out to inform me I was suspended for three days. Well isn't this turning into an absolutely fabulous day.

We passed Duncan on our way out and he called out, "Your turn now, huh?" he laughed cruelly.

I used my one phone call to ask Dad's friend Cliff McCormick to come bail me out. I knew I should have called Dad, but how much disappointment should one man have to face?

After about half an hour Cliff showed up. "Thanks for posting bail, Cliff. Any chance you could not tell my Dad?"

"Trust me, your dad's gonna find out one way or the other. Besides, I may need to sic him on you if you don't show up at the courthouse. Next Tuesday, 9am."

"I need to figure out who set me up before I tell him."

A man in a dark suit walked into the room. "Don't say anything Ms. Mars."

"And you are?"

"John Clark, your lawyer."

"Umm, John, meet my lawyer Cliff McCormick. So I ask again, you are?"

"Cliff McCormick, nice to meet you. I'm assuming you are Ms. Mars' public assigned attorney? She will not be requiring your services. Ms Mars, Mr. Echolls was quite insistent that you have adequate representation."

Mr. Echolls? Even from out of town Logan manages to annoy me. "Actually, John, Mr. McCormick is a family friend, so it looks like I won't be needing your services."

John pulled out his phone. "You were right, sir. Here you go." He handed the phone to me. I looked at him suspiciously. "Mr. Echolls was adamant that I couldn't leave until he had the chance to talk to you."

I took the phone. "Logan."

"Why won't you let me help you, Veronica?" he asked with frustration leaking out his voice.

"Why didn't you ask me? I didn't need a lawyer, I had one already."

"And how could I ask you? I figured you wouldn't be able to answer your phone."

I was a little taken aback at Logan's flawless logic. "Well-"

"I'm sure your lawyer is great, but please accept the help. John is the best lawyer in LA."

I realized I was arguing with Logan over a better lawyer, which was silly. "Fine, but I'm keeping Cliff too," I said sullenly.

"Of course, dear," Logan said. I would have sworn he was smirking at me through the phone.

"When will you be home?" I asked softly.

"Tonight. I appreciate the calls, Veronica, I just needed some time."

"Of course. Tell your Mom I send my love," I said as I hung up.

"Alright, John. Welcome to the team."

He looked at me with shock written on all of his features. "Team?"

"I told Logan I would accept your help, but Cliff is a family friend and I trust him. You can assist him."

Cliff grinned as I turned towards him. "So, am I going to be able to beat this rap?"

"Well, possession…they've got you pretty cold on that one. The stuff in your wallet is Mickey Mouse. It's the IDs in the locker that they care about," Cliff said with a sigh.

"I've already requested a copy of the finger print tests from the Sheriff. He seemed reluctant to complete them, but when I offered to bankroll the procedure form a third party he agreed. I hope Mr. Echolls was correct in assuming your innocence?"

I couldn't help the smile that took over my face. "Yes, Logan was correct. I mean the ID saying I am 22 that was in my wallet was mine, but the blank IDs I had never seen before in my life."

"Right. So until the coma guy wakes up, the only thing they have tying you to this supposed fake ID ring is the testimony of the other kid, Rick."

"What other kid?"

Cliff pointed him out to me. I stormed into the lobby where he was sitting and I grabbed him, turning him towards me. "

"Howdy, Rick. Do I know you? No. Then why'd you tell Sheriff Lamb I sold you a fake ID?"

"It's…it-it's what they told me to say."

"Who's they?"

"No way. They're everywhere. They will destroy me."

"I'll destroy you worse." The kid looked terrified. "Fine. Tomorrow in school, we talk. You'll be hearing from me."

Wallace came over after school. "La femme Veronica. I heard it took three officers and a stun gun to haul your butt outta school."

"You know me. Six months pregnant and still putting up a fight," I said as I rolled my eyes. I got Wallace to agree to try to figure out who at school was selling fake IDs.

When Wallace left I found Dad and Cliff in the living room. "Their case is fuzzy and circumstantial."

Dad turned to Cliff and laughed. "Ironically those were her first words."

We turned on the news and were bombarded with breaking stories about women who were claiming Aaron Echolls had slept with them. I tried to call Logan, but his phone was shut off. I had a funny feeling that Lynn was not going to take this news so well.

I slept in a little, but drove to school. I parked in the back parking lot and covered my car with a tarp. I called Rick and said, "Back parking lot, fourth row."

When Rick told me he was outside the car I opened the door. "Slide on in."

"So where were we? Right! Who framed me?"

"They're called the Tritons. It's a secret society at school."

"Why haven't I heard of them? Stupid question. Keep going."

"The Tritons have been around as long as Neptune High. Six new members are inducted their junior year by the six seniors. They pick the best guys in everything. Academics, sports, everything. They're pretty much the six guys you'd expect. Tim and I were among their pledges."

"Who's in charge?"

"No one even knows for sure who the brothers are."

"So this was a hazing ritual?"

"The twelve labors. The first few challenges weren't so bad. But on Friday when I opened up my locker, I found a fake ID with my yearbook picture on it. The instructions said we were supposed to go to a bunch of bars and have a shot at each of 'em."

"And you expect me to buy this? Try again, Rick. Why did you really set me up?"

He blinked at me. "What do you mean?"

"A secret society? Six members and they chose you and Tim? I've never heard of either of you before today. What happened to the best of the best." I pulled out the taser. "Why did you set me up?"

Rick smirked at me. "Maybe I just knew that everyone would believe someone like you did it."

I tasered Rick to wipe the smirk off of his face. I dumped him out of the car and headed home. Wallace texted me the instructions of how someone could get a fake ID. I told Wallace I would give him the money tomorrow and asked him to drop it and his name into the locker. I asked Weevil to have his boys watch the locked to figure out who opened it.

I was surprised when Logan called me after I had cleaned up from dinner. "Hello?"

"So I was thinking. You're suspended, I'm suspended, let's make a day of it tomorrow."

"Why are you suspended, Logan? Apparently, I know a great lawyer if you need one."

He laughed. "No big deal. Got into a fight with one of Weevil's boys."

"Why were you in a fight?"

"You need a reason to punch a Mexican these days?" he joked.

"Logan! What's going on?"

"I'm fine. Would you like company or not?"

"I have to run a couple of errands in the morning and then I have a doctor's appointment. I suppose you could come if you wanted."

Logan was quiet for a minute. "What kind of doctors appointment?"

"A check-up for the baby. I should get new ultrasound pictures too."

Logan was quiet again, and I checked the phone twice to see if we got disconnected. "What time should I pick you up?"

"If you want to help with all the errands around 7:30am. I have to catch Wallace before school for my first mission. If you just want to come to the doctor you could pick me up at home at 1:00pm.

"See you at 7:30, Veronica," Logan said softly before hanging up.

I called Weevil as soon as Logan was off the phone. "What happened at school today, Vato?"

"So you heard from your rich boy, eh, V.? He got into a fight with Hector."

"Yeah, he told me that much. What was the fight about?"

Weevil sighed. "You're not going to like it."

"Shock."

"You have to remember that Logan is an ass hole."

"I prefer to think of him as an obligatory psychotic jackass, but please go on," I said sarcastically.

"Hector was teasing him about his dad cheating on his mother," Weevil said in a rush.

"Are you kidding me? He doesn't need that shit, Weevil. And his mother doesn't deserve that kind of treatment. Do you know how badly she is taking all this negative publicity? She's barely holding it together. Aaron was an ass hole and he's still hurting them even though he's gone."

Weevil sighed. "You say that like Logan hasn't said or done things that were worse-"

"So if the 09ers do it, it's ok? Weevil, come on."

"I'll try to talk to the boys, V., but Logan comes off as a racist prick. It will be hard for my boys to avoid using this opportunity.

"Nice, Weevil. Next thing I know your boys will be using the fact that Logan is the father of my bastard baby to bring him down a peg too, huh? Or maybe they'll use the fact that he got saddled with the biggest slut in school? Or maybe it'll be a rumor that I gave him an STD when he got me pregnant. Thanks, Vato, with friends like you and so on," I said as I hung up the phone angrily.

Weevil tried to call back a couple of times, but I didn't answer. Why was I so upset? Weevil wasn't wrong. Logan can be a racist jackass. I had almost drifted to sleep when the realization hit me. I was so upset because I cared about Logan. Somehow we had become friends somewhere along the way.

Logan pulls into the driveway at 7:15 the next morning. I couldn't help smiling as I went out and climbed into his car.

"Where to, Veronica?"

"Wallace's home, Jeeves," I said teasingly.

Logan wiggles his eyebrows suggestively. "Your wish is my command. Why are we going to Wallace's this early on a day where we do not have to go to school and therefore do not have to be awake?"

"Hey you wanted to come. I have to give Wallace something."

"And what couldn't wait until a more decent hour?" Logan asked, avoiding my statement that he had invited himself.

"I'm trying to figure out who set me up for the fake IDs. I have to give Wallace 250 dollars so he can get an ID made. Then I have eyes on the locker all day so I should be able to figure out who is really behind the fake ID ring."

"I could give him the money, Veronica."

I stiffened. "That's not what I invited you for."

"Never said it was. But I will admit Daddy's money is burning a hole in my pocket."

"Better get a fire extinguisher than because you aren't passing that buck off to me."

When we got to Wallace's house he came up to the passenger window and I passed him the 250 dollars. "Thanks, Wallace. See you after school?"

"Yeah, unless you still wanted me to get out early so I could go to the doctor with you?"

My face went a little red. "I think I have another ride, but thanks."

Wallace grinned and said, "You don't say. See you later, V."

For a few minutes I couldn't think of anything to say. Logan cleared his throat and broke the silence. "Where to next, Miss Mars?"

This was a very good question. My next stop was originally going to be hanging out in my car listening to the bug I planted in Ms. James' office. I have the funny feeling that Logan would not be the best surveillance partner. "How about some breakfast? I have a meeting at 9:30 with Cliff and that lawyer you hired, so we have some time to kill."

Logan smiled. "Sounds good."

As I sit across from Logan eating my Belgium waffles I realize I should tell him some of what I learned in Duncan's journal. I checked the time to confirm that even if Logan got pissed and ditched me I could make it to my meeting with Cliff.

"Logan, we have to talk."

Logan stiffened. "Must we?" he asked sarcastically.

"I did something I don't think you would approve of."

Logan relaxes slightly. "What felony did you commit this time?"

"I got Weevil to lend me Duncan's laptop after he stole it for collateral."

"You read his journal?" Logan asked with disappointment dripping from his voice.

"I had to know-"

"God forbid, Veronica Mars doesn't know something."

I took a deep breath and dove right in. "Duncan drugged you the night of Shelley Pomroy's party, Logan."

Logan blinked at me. "What?"

"He was pissed that you stuck up for me, so he dosed you with GHB. We had sex because we were both drugged. It wasn't your fault," I said softly.

"Did he know?" Logan asked.

"No." I debated ending it there. I didn't want to ruin Logan's friendship, but in the end I needed him to understand why his baby's uncle couldn't have a role in it's life. "But he did know I was his sister. He knew it for two weeks before he stopped talking to me. He knew it when he raped me," I ended in a whisper.

"No," Logan said forcefully. "He couldn't have known."

I shrugged. "I just thought you should know. Believe what you want." I threw down some money and struggled to stand up.

"Veronica, it can't always be like this. You can't drop these bombs on me and run away. It's not fair."

I laughed. "Fair? Right. This is what's unfair. So sorry. I should have more sympathy for you, right? Since your sibling had sex with you while you were unconscious and then blamed you for it."

Logan grabbed my arm. "Veronica, I'm sorry, but I will take more than twenty seconds to process stuff like this."

"It's fine, Logan. He's your best friend, I understand-"

"Veronica, my best friend can't be someone who did these things, but it will take me a little bit to process that my ex best friend wasn't who I thought he was. You have to give me time. If we're going to try being friends than you have to treat me like one all the time. Pretend I'm Wallace, would you have given me a few minutes to process then?"

I sat back down and nodded slowly. Logan's right, I would have given Mac or Wallace some time to process. What made me so quick to run away from Logan? "You're right, I'm sorry."

Logan blinked. "What was that?" he asked with a smirk.

I shoved him playfully. "Nothing," I said with an innocent smile.

"Any more bombs to drop on me?"

I shook my head no and took a close look at Logan. He looked tired, and I felt ashamed for dumping this on him while he was already struggling with so much.

I met with Cliff and John and told them I should have confirmation of the identity of the person framing me by tomorrow. John looks doubtful, but Logan's presence seems to keep him from disagreeing with me or challenging me.

When we got back to the car I told Logan he could choose what we did until we had to go see my doctor at 1:00. Logan drove us to the beach and we sat watching the ocean until it was time to see the doctor. When it was time I just squeezed his hand and we walked back to the car together.

When we got in to see Dr Mason he greeted me warmly, "Veronica, so nice to see you again. Where is Wallace?" he asked.

Logan stiffened up next to me. "He's in school. This is Logan, the baby's father. I thought he might like to, you know, be a part of this."

Dr. Mason nodded and I remembered I had told him I didn't know who the father was. "Nice to meet you, Logan. Veronica, any difficulties since your last appointment?"

"Nope, even the morning sickness hasn't been so bad."

"Did you make a decision about knowing the baby's gender?" Dr. Mason asked me.

I looked at Logan and realized this is something we really should have discussed. "Well, I'd like to know, but I don't know about Logan. I'm not really a fan of surprises."

Logan nodded. "I'd like to know. There've been too many surprises recently," he says sadly.

Dr. Mason does an ultrasound and prints out extra copies of the pictures for me. I'm shocked at how much my baby looks like a baby. I'm used to pictures of a blurry peanut. "Congratulations, you're having a boy," Dr. Mason says smiling at me.

"I'm going to have a son?" Logan asks.

"No, Logan. We're going to have a son," I said with a smile.

Logan drops me off at home still in a daze from the news. I showed Wallace the ultrasound and he reminded me what a great name Wallace is for a baby. He shows me his fake ID.

"The ink is bleeding at the edges, the hologram is missing and is that your yearbook picture, Wallace?"

"So what?"

"So this is a $250 piece of crap. Now I'm not just falsely accused, I'm genuinely offended."

I texted Weevil to see if anyone had gotten into locker 110. He replied that no one had opened it and the closest anyone had come was the person getting into locker 111 below it.

I smiled at Wallace. "I know who set me up, and I know how to prove it."

"Damn, girl. That's a dangerous look on your face. Remind me never to piss you off."

In the morning I went to the Sherriff's office. I told Lamb how to get an ID made and promised him that the guilty party would be walking into the Sherriff's department to turn himself in after school. Lamb humored me and had Sacks put my envelope of money with a randomly selected name into locker 110.

I called Rick when Lamb stepped out of his office for a minute. "Hey, Rick, sorry I didn't believe you before. I figured out who the Tritons were and who has been making fake IDs. Should be able to clear both our names. The guilty guy will be coming in after school, you won't want to miss it."

Spending the day pretending to read magazines while Lamb glares at you is not my idea of a dream vacation day. I made it through the same five magazines ten times before Rick and Sacks walked into the office.

"Is he here yet?" Rick asked.

"He just walked in," I said with a smirk.

"Uh, it's just like she said. Found the fake in his locker," Sacks said.

"Process of elimination. I didn't do it."

"What, me? Are you crazy?"

"How else do you explain the two fifty in your wallet?" I asked with a grin.

"Cough it up," Lamb said.

"Big deal, this money's mine. It doesn't prove anything."

"Why don't you take a closer look at the one on top."

Lamb pulls it out. "Veronica Mars is smarter than me," he reads. I grinned.

"The night Tim went to the hospital, he and Rick were using their own fake IDs, buying their own drinks and enjoying the profits of their own fake ID biz. You were never hazed. You tried blaming the Tritons because you were pissed off at them. Your dad and your brother are Tritons but you didn't measure up, did you Rick? You weren't even invited to join their secret society. So when you were called into the office, you dumped a bunch of blank IDs and you blamed me. But why me? Was is just because people would believe that I did it?"

"All right. Since you asked. Last year your dad was hired to track down a hedge fund manager for embezzlement. That was my father. Only the newspapers never mentioned that his company cheated him out of his bonus three years running. They took our house, they took our cars. Eventually, my parents got a divorce. You must be proud."

I snorted. "Funny how criminals always feel that they are justified in breaking the law. Must be nice to know you're special."

Cliff met with Lamb and confirmed that all charges were dropped. I was a little surprised to hear that he dropped the possession charge, but I wasn't going to bring it to his attention.

As I was heading out of the station a voice on the radio caught my attention.

**Dispatch, this is King-12 requesting assistance for possible jumper on the Coronado Bridge. The abandoned vehicle is a red Dodge Viper, license plate ECHOLLS 2 blocking the northbound lane.**


	14. Chapter 14

AN: Thanks for your patience, work has been crazy and this chapter took me a little longer than most. I appreciate all the feedback I got and it helps to keep me motivated so please keep it up! Once again I do not own anything Veronica Mars related (no matter how much I wish it was so)

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I tried to call Logan, but his phone went straight to voice mail. I drove to his house as fast as the La Baron could safely travel. I must have broken a dozen traffic laws, but it was necessary if I was going to get to Logan in time. I waddled to the door and rang the bell.

Logan answered the door and looked at me in surprise. "Veronica? What are you-"

I grabbed him into a hug and he tried to hold me. "Your phone was off," I said. I knew I should have started with my news, but I wanted to put off shattering Logan like that.

"And you worried that my life was tied to having cell signal?" he asked softly with a grin.

"Logan, where is your mom?"

"She went out to pick up some things. Why? What's going on?" Logan asked as he pulled away from me, concern finally filling his face.

"I was at the Sherriff's station and-"

"Veronica, long time no see," Sheriff Lamb interrupted me to say. "Logan Echolls there has been a tragedy. Your mother seems to have jumped off the Coronado bridge. I'm sorry, but we need you to come to the station to give us a statement."

Logan turned to me with tears in his eyes. My heart broke as I wished I could go back in time and talk to him sooner. No one should have Lamb tell them their mother is dead. He has no empathy, it's like hiring a clown to do it. It just makes it hurt more. "Logan, I'm so sorry."

He shakes his head in negation and steps back into my arms. He's hunched over so much that I can see Lamb over his head as he sobs onto my shoulder. "I'll get him to the station. Give us a few minutes," I said, letting some of my anger leak into my voice.

I let Logan cry for several minutes before his sobs started to slow. When they did I kissed his forehead and whispered, "Logan, we need to go down to the station."

He pulled away and looked hurt, but I knew it would be worse if Lamb came back. He would probably arrest Logan just out of spite. "It's ok, I'll come with you, but we have to go."

He deflated in front of me and I felt a wave of anger towards Lynn go through me. What kind of person could leave their seventeen year old son alone like this? Yeah, the paparazzi were annoying, but they were survivable. She survived living with Aaron for years and she couldn't take a few months of reading about her husband's sexual exploits?

I waited while Logan talked to the Sherriff and gave them whatever answers he had. I was thankful they had not been able to locate Lynn's body so Logan was not forced to identify anything.

When Lamb was done making up questions he told Logan he could go home, but to stay close. Logan got into my car moving robotically. I thought about taking him to my apartment, but Dad was home and I didn't think Logan was up for seeing anyone else today.

I pulled up in front of his house and softly asked, "Would you like me to come in."

Logan turned towards me and his eyes were full of unshed tears. "You don't have to."

"I want to."

Logan nodded and led the way inside. I left him in his room so he could get changed and I went downstairs to make him some soup. I can't help it if my go to move when faced with adversity is to cook. Before going upstairs I texted Dad to tell him what happened and where I was.

I brought a bowl up to Logan, but I found him already in bed. I set the soup down and sat on the bed next to him. I prayed for the right words to say, but I had nothing. I wrapped myself him around him as best as I could with my giant belly between us. His only reaction to my presence was a slight relaxation in his muscles and his sobs grew louder.

I woke up early because the baby was playing soccer with my bladder again. I moved carefully so I wouldn't disturb Logan. When I was done I cleaned up the soup and the dishes I had used. I looked around and tried to find something else I could do. I felt lost without a task at hand.

I went back upstairs to check on Logan, but he was in the shower. I checked in with Dad who encouraged me to make it home soon since he was worried about me.

As I hung up the phone Logan came out of the bathroom wearing only a towel. He looked surprised to see me, but maybe he was just confused since I was just staring at him.

"If you wanted to stare at me in a towel you only had to ask, Veronica," Logan said with a cheesy grin.

I blinked at him completely confused. What happened to the Logan who sobbed into my shoulders like his life was over? "Do you need anything?" I asked as I forced myself to turn away from his half naked body.

Logan grabbed some things out of his dresser and went back into the bathroom. "I could use the number of a good lawyer. Now that I'm little orphan Annie I'll have to look into getting emancipated. If I don't hurry they might give Trina custody of me," he said with a shudder as he walked back into the room.

I knew things were bad if Logan was in full avoidance mode. "Logan, I meant-"

"Veronica, I'm fine. You can go home if you want. Your dad must be worried, and I would hate to have him go all open season on the last of the Echolls clan," he said with a grin that didn't quite reach his eyes.

"I don't have to go," I tried again.

Logan's voice became soft as he said, "No, but you don't have to stay either. I'm just going to talk to my lawyer and complete paperwork. I'm not going to do anything that needs a kick ass teenage detective." He looked like he wanted to say something else, but he just grinned again and went back into the bathroom to style his hair.

With a sigh I admitted to myself that the idea of taking a shower and being able to change my clothes was a nice one. I walked over to the bathroom. "Ok, Logan. I'm going to go home and check in. Call if you need anything, ok?"

Logan nodded, still focused on styling his hair. I wanted to hug him, but I didn't want to make this moment any more awkward than it already was.

After I had been able to take a shower and change my clothes I felt anxious again. I wanted something to do, a mission. I tried to call Logan, but his phone was shut off. I made a mental note to give Logan a disposable cell phone for moments when he wanted to avoid paparazzi.

I turned all my anxious energy into baking. I made dozens of cookies and two lopsided cakes before I ran out of ingredients.

I decided to go help my dad finish some paperwork at the office. I called Wallace and bribed him with a batch of cookies to come help me.

Wallace got to the office and gave me a hug as he snatched a cookie.

I laughed. "Nice to see you have priorities, Wallace."

"Hey you came first, you were just quickly replaced with the allure of baked goods. And mmm the girl can bake!" he said as he moaned with ecstasy.

I turned on my computer and an ad for a tabloid flashed across the screen. _Logan Echolls' Private Tragedy - Lynn's car is found parked on bridge – abandoned._ I was suddenly angry. They had managed to get a decent shot of a heartbroken Logan. Didn't they realize that some things should be private? I very badly wanted a target for my anger.

Wallace saw what I was looking at and broke me out of my plotting. "Did she really leave a note on a Blackberry?"

"Yeah. Talk about post-modern," I said with a sigh. I still couldn't believe how selfish Lynn had been.

"How's Logan holding up? It must suck to have tabloid creeps in your face at a time like this."

I debate between being completely honest and protecting Logan's pain. "It's hard to say. His phone is off today; I think he's in full avoidance mode. Not that he doesn't have valid reasons. And you're right, tabloid creeps are always obnoxious, but it should be criminal for them to stalk him right now."

"Since when did Veronica Mars have a soft spot for Logan Echolls?" Wallace asked teasingly. "You're getting soft, Veronica."

Before I could reply a large man with an entourage walked in. "Hey, I'm, uh, looking for Keith Mars."

I called out for Dad and led the men into his office.

When I sat back down Wallace looked at me with wide eyes. "You know who that is?"

"Should I know who that is?"

"If you're serious about your cred with the urban demographic."

"I am absolutely serious about my cred with the urban demo."

"Drive by records." Wallace paused as though this should mean something to me. "Reported to have held a man out of a window in order to get him to sign a contract." He paused again and sighed. "Twice jailed and emerged stronger each time." He looked at me, but this still didn't mean anything to me. "The gangster rap impresario beside whom all gangster rap impresarios measure themselves. That's Bone Hamilton."

"Hamilton? God, that's Yolanda Hamilton's dad?"

"I didn't know you knew her."

"We used to be friends…a long time ago."

When Bone and his boys left Dad came out looking serious. "Veronica I need you to go home. Mr. Hamilton's daughter has been kidnapped and I don't want you to be involved in this case."

"Dad-"

"Veronica, no arguments. I am not going to allow my daughter to try to chase down the type of people who kidnap teenage girls. Wallace, will you make sure Veronica gets home safely?"

Wallace nodded in affirmation and I rolled my eyes. "Dad, this over protective grandpa thing is getting old. She's a senior at my school. I can ask around, background info."

Dad's face softened. "Sure, honey, but be careful. I don't know what I'd do if anything happened to you."

I convinced Wallace that I could drive myself home without getting into any trouble as he had driven his mom's car anyway. Instead of heading home I went back to Logan's house.

I waited at the gate for a long time. I had almost given up on Logan being willing for company when I was buzzed in.

Logan opened the door after I knocked. He gestured dramatically around the front room which had flowers on every available surface. "If you really want flowers, dying seems to be the way to go."

Logan sounded drunk and I sighed as I wished I had a manual for how to help someone through the death of not one but both of their parents.

Logan pulled a garment bag out of the closet. "My costume. Do you think it's sad enough? Or should I order a veil to go with it?"

I debate whether the sarcastic answer or a push towards dealing with his emotions will be more effective.

"Veil might be overkill. I would hate to overshadow Trina. She sent a wreath." He gestures towards one side of the room. "She also sent a telegram. _Heartbroken. Stop. Can't make it back from Sydney. Stop. Underwater scene shoot tomorrow. Stop. Entire crew said prayer for Mom. Stop. Love you. Stop_."

"Logan-"

"Stop?" he says angrily. "Why are you here Veronica? Memorial service isn't until tomorrow. Did I get your invitation wrong," he said snarkily.

"I thought you might some company. Judging by how drunk you sound I think I came right on time."

"Do you think Trina would really care? Until the lawyer is able to push through the emancipation she is my legal guardian. Luckily she's out of the country and my lawyer assures me before the wills are executed I will be free of guardianship."

"Did you ever think I might care," I finally snapped. I felt horrible for snapping while Logan was clearly hurting so badly, but then I saw him smile for the first time since before he got the news about his mother.

"I will admit evidence to the contrary is staggering."

I playfully shoved his arm. "I figured you would have been able to read the clues I was laying out." I got a text from dad telling me he was heading home because he had not gotten anywhere with the first suspect from Bone Hamilton.

"You told me you were trying. Trying and caring are different," he said with sadness creeping into his voice.

I gave him a hug. "Maybe I'm succeeding." I pulled away and grinned. "A little," I said teasingly. He grinned back at me. "So am I really invited to this memorial service tomorrow?"

Logan stiffened. "Of course. Everyone who ever met either of them is invited. Didn't you see Entertainment Tonight?"

"What I was really asking was if you wanted me to come, Logan," I said seriously.

Logan laughed and toasted me with his flask before taking a very long drink. "What I want is to skip the whole thing. I hate the idea of Mom being remembered by all the people trying to kiss the ass of Aaron's memory."

"Maybe you'll be surprised. Your mother was well loved too. She was a great woman."

Logan smiled at me, "Of course she was, but you don't understand the people who will be coming. Mom may have been a great woman, but her 'friends' were people riding Aaron's coattails. These are going to be people angling to get a little more attention or fame out of the affair." He took another drink from his flask before looking sad. "Looks like I need a refill."

"You don't need a refill, Logan. You don't need that."

"When both of your parents die within a week we'll talk about what is needed. In the meantime I'm going to drown my sorrows with my Mom's closest friend, Jack Daniels."

I considered telling Logan why his drinking was bugging me. I knew it would have to be a discussion. There is no way he could be around my kid if he was going to drown his sorrows whenever life threw him a curve ball. He was not going to be a drunk like my mom, willing to abandon their kid when it wasn't convenient to stick around anymore. I couldn't do it in that moment though. Logan was so broken and I knew if I gave him that particular ultimatum it would destroy him.

Logan didn't bother with a glass as he took a long swig straight from the bottle. He turned to me, face serious, and said, "Does this mean we're friends?"

I couldn't help smiling at him. "I think it might. I only offer to hang around with drunk people when they're my friends."

Logan grinned. "But will you hold my hair when I drink too much and end up puking it back up?"

"I think I have to draw the line somewhere before that," I said teasingly. "The baby doesn't like it when I do things that are gross. I've just gotten used to not losing everything I eat, I think I'm all set."

I half expected Logan to be hurt by my teasing, but he just blew me a kiss and took another drink.

Logan stumbled and I helped him down the hall to his bedroom. He passed out within seconds. I tucked him in and kissed his forehead before heading home.

Dad offered to join me at the memorial service, but I told him to keep looking for Yolanda. I was worried about her and it was driving me crazy that Dad wouldn't let me help. When I checked in with Dad he told me that he wasn't making much progress looking for Yolanda. Dad admitted he had been able to eliminate some of Bone's suspects, but he stated that he was running out of leads. I went to Logan's for the memorial service for his mother. They had luckily not been able to find a body, so instead of a funeral they were honorary Lynn's memory.

I got to his house early, but it was already crowded. I guess when it came to making a show of your grief early was the new fashionably late. I watched Logan drift through the crowd. He was shaking hands and pretending to thank everyone for coming, but I could see the sarcasm and mischievous glint in his eyes from across the room.

When Logan winked and pointed a finger gun at a woman I rolled my eyes and went up to him. When he saw me his eyes softened. "Veronica, I'm so glad you came," he said, sounding genuine.

I don't bother saying I'm sorry. I've said those words and they didn't help. As I realized no words could do anything to help I reached up and gave Logan a hug. He relaxed into my arms. When he finally pulled away I could see him sighing before glancing around the room again.

"I should let you continue to make the rounds," I said softly.

Logan snorted. "Are you kidding? Half the time I don't think the people I'm greeting even know who I am. I could use a drink though. Can I get you anything?"

I shook my head in negation and watched Logan walk to the fully stocked bar. A man came up to him and appeared to push for more than a generic thank you for coming.

When Logan was able to get away from him he came back, but he looked angry.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"Dad's old flunky Harvey is trying to convince me to step into the old man's shoes. He said I'd be a natural and could probably get any part I wanted with all of the media attention on me. He really believed I would trade parents for a career in acting."

"Want me to dig up dirt on him later so we can laugh at the embarrassing skeletons in his closet?"

Logan looked at me for a minute before bursting into laughter. "Yes, that sounds perfect. Way more effective than me telling him to fuck off."

"I'm sorry that a jerk like that would be bugging you now of all times. "Don't worry, Veronica. It's going to be ok." He started to play with a gold lighter.

Dick came over to see Logan and I wandered to give them some privacy. Condolences from people who actually cared about you should not be a public affair.

I was sad to see that I didn't recognize most of the people in the room. I wished that remained true when I ran into Jake Kane.

"Veronica," he said awkwardly.

"Jake," I said without wanting to say more.

"I've been meaning to-"

I laughed. "Please don't do that."

"What?" he asked.

"Pretend you care. It's a little late to try to play the Daddy card. I've filled that slot in my life."

Jake looked pained. "Veronica, I never meant-"

"Oh you never meant to help my mother cheat on my father? You never meant to donate the sperm necessary for a daughter you'd never acknowledge? You never meant to allow your son to date your lover's daughter? Bygones!" I almost told him about Duncan raping me, but I decided I didn't want the world to know about it. Maybe it made me a weak person, but I didn't want the world to know my brother raped me.

I walked away before he could reply, and decided to try to find Logan again. When I wandered back I couldn't find Logan. I looked around for him, but it looked like he had ditched his own party. I texted him and he said he was playing video games with Dick and paying homage in his own way. I reminded him to let me know if he needed anything and went home.

When I got home Dad told me that he had found Yolanda and she was fine. Apparently she hadn't been kidnapped, she had run away to get married to the son of her Dad's number one enemy. It was sad how comforting it was that someone had a more complicated situation than mine. I was glad Yolanda was safe though. I had been feeling guilty even though it had been a long time since I let her down by letting Lily dictate who I could be friends with. For the first time I started to wonder what Lily would have thought of the new Veronica Mars. It was a little disturbing to realize she might not have found all of my changes to be the improvements I saw them as.

A light knocking on my window woke me up in the middle of the night. I jumped out of bed and was surprised to see Logan there. I went around and let him in the front door. "What are you doing here, Logan?" I asked softly.

"I want you to find my mother."


End file.
